May 29, 2025 – Adrian, Michigan - The Lenawee County Health Department (LCHD) is once again participating in the annual Vector-Borne Disease Surveillance and Prevention Program in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). As part of this ongoing public health initiative, LCHD will collect and submit mosquito and tick monitoring data to MDHHS. This data will also be used locally to inform and protect the community from emerging vector-borne disease threats.
This year’s surveillance efforts will continue to focus on identifying populations of potentially invasive Aedes species mosquitoes, which have the ability to transmit viruses such as Zika, and monitoring for Ixodes scapularis, commonly known as the blacklegged tick or deer tick. These ticks are capable of spreading Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.
LCHD remains committed to using the latest surveillance data to raise awareness and reduce the risk of vector-borne diseases in Lenawee County.
All residents can take simple, everyday precautions to protect themselves against vector-borne illnesses that can be transmitted through mosquito and tick bites by doing the following:
- Use an EPA-approved insect repellent: When outdoors, use insect repellent containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus on exposed skin and/or clothing. Always follow the directions on the package.
- Wear protective clothing: Wear long sleeves and pants when weather permits.
- Keep mosquitoes from laying eggs near you: Mosquitoes can lay eggs even in small amounts of standing water. Get rid of mosquito breeding sites by emptying standing water from flower pots, bird baths, kids’ toys/pools, and tires.
- Landscape for tick prevention: Keep the grass mowed, remove leaf litter, brush, and weeds at the edge of the lawn.
- Consider pesticide application: Pesticides can be applied as targeted treatments to reduce mosquito and tick populations.
- Perform regular tick checks: Ticks can attach to any part of the human body, but prefer body creases and areas with hair such as the groin, armpit, ankle and scalp. Be sure to check yourself, your kids, and your pets for ticks after spending time outdoors.
Submit a tick or “tick pic” to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services to have an expert help identify what kinds of ticks you find or download “The Tick App” to show you how to avoid ticks and tick-borne diseases. Find more information about emerging vector-borne illnesses at www.michigan.gov/emergingdiseases.