Wanted dead or alive: ticks from across Iowa.

Yep, those tiny blood-sucking monsters that can be found on both humans and animals this time of year are a collector’s item for one Iowa State professor.

Wayne Rowley, a professor of entomology, collects ticks for the Lyme Disease Project. He is tracking the location of the “tricky little devils” and determining what diseases they transmit.

“We’re particularly interested in people sending us the ticks they find,” Rowley said. “We will take as many as we can get.”

Rowley, who has been at ISU for 29 years, said the ticks will be tested for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease and other tick-born pathogens. People who donate ticks will receive notification about the species of their tick and whether it has been infected with the bacteria.

People who find live ticks should wrap them in tissues with a few blades of grass or drops of water and send them in a zip-lock bag.

Ticks, alive or dead, need to be sent to: Lyme Disease Project, Department of Entomology, 440 Science II, ISU, Ames IA 50011. Information on the geographic location where the tick was found and whether it was removed from a person or an animal should be included along with the sender’s name and address.

The project began in 1988. Rowley said up to 500 people sent in ticks during the summer months. The program is sponsored by the Iowa State Health Department and the Agricultural Experiment Station.

Ken Platt, a professor of microbiology, studies the Lyme disease bacteria. He said the project will create a model to forecast potential problems from ticks. “We want to know if we can identify weather or environmental factors affecting the bacteria on the tick,” Platt said.

The more researchers know about the agents of disease, the more preventative measures can be developed, he said.

Rowley said it is hard to predict the size of this year’s tick population. The tick season runs from late March until July and then again from September through October. The population will increase with warmer temperatures.

Ticks congregate around wooded areas and animal trails. People should wear light-colored clothing to make the ticks easier to recognize. Pant legs should be stuffed into socks to keep the ticks from crawling up bare legs. Mosquito repellent with 20-30 percent DEET keeps ticks away also.

The best way to get ticks off the skin is to use tweezers and grab it close to the skin, Rowley said. After applying gentle pressure, the tick will relax its grip and come off. He does not recommend burning the tick off. If a tick-getter becomes sick, Rowley said he or she should tell his or her doctor immediately. Lyme disease, the most common diagnosed tick-borne illness, can cause arthritis.

The three species of ticks commonly found in Iowa are the wood tick, found statewide, the Lone Star tick, found in the southern counties along the Missouri boarder, and the deer tick found in the counties along the Mississippi River.