Something I learned while working on this project is that ticks are rather picky about weather. They need moisture to survive, so when it’s very hot and dry out, they hide down near the soil instead of climbing up brush and grass to seek out hosts. Tick dragging only collects ticks that are actively “questing,” or waving their legs to grab onto an animal or person. The drag cloth will pass over ticks that are hunkering down at the base of grasses and plants.
The unusually hot and dry weather this season meant that many volunteers weren’t finding any ticks, so Dr. Harrington and Emily decided to extend the collecting period by a week. This means that volunteers will be able to tick drag through July 8th, and hopefully the weather conditions during the additional week will be more favorable for finding ticks.