September 3, 2026 - Hannah Tiffin, Ashley Russo, & Matt Springer (Tick Research)

LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 3, 2026) – University of Kentucky researchers are working to better understand how ticks move through Kentucky landscapes — and how wildlife, livestock, people and land use all connect in the spread of tick-borne disease.

On this episode of Behind the Blue, Kody Kiser talks with Hannah Tiffin, Ashley Russo and Matt Springer from the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food & Environment about a UK research project focused on tick ecology and surveillance. The team is collecting ticks from different environments, including wooded areas, cattle pastures, horse pastures and mixed-use livestock settings, to learn more about which tick species are present, when they are active and what disease-causing pathogens they may carry.

A major focus of the project is the role of mice, which Tiffin describes as “tick magnets.” Because mice are common across many environments and can carry both ticks and pathogens, they can help researchers understand how ticks move between wildlife areas, farms, pastures and places where people and animals live and work.

Russo discusses the fieldwork behind the project, including tick dragging, checking livestock, trapping mice and testing new mouse nesting boxes as a possible surveillance tool. If successful, that tool could one day support broader community-based science efforts, allowing people across Kentucky to help researchers track tick distribution and seasonality.

The conversation also highlights the student learning component of the project, with undergraduate and graduate students gaining hands-on experience in wildlife handling, tick identification, field research and vector-borne disease education. Springer adds perspective on how wildlife management, outdoor recreation, agriculture and public health all intersect when studying ticks in Kentucky.

The episode closes with practical advice for listeners who spend time outdoors, work with animals or have pets at home. The researchers emphasize knowing your risk, using prevention tools, checking yourself and your animals for ticks, and removing attached ticks promptly and properly.

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This interview has been edited for time and clarity.