5-26-14 wisconsin ticks

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A team of researchers at the University of Wisconsin is taking on deer ticks — with hopes of giving people a tool to protect themselves from the bugs that can transmit Lyme disease.  The team is using mice and the university's Arboretum for their research.  The team is laying out 25 sections of PVC pipe in the Arboretum, filling each pipe with cotton balls containing an insecticide that kills ticks. The mice then use the cotton balls to build nests. When a tick latches onto a mouse and makes contact with the cotton ball, it dies.  The researchers will monitor the areas around the tubes to see if the deer tick population is affected. The goal is to find another tool for homeowners to guard against ticks.