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Our Goal: Reduce the Burden of Disease
The Biting Insect & Tick Ecology (BITE) Lab is dedicated to reducing pest pressures for Kentucky animals and communities.
The BITE Lab is focused on developing strategies and novel tools to manage, control, and prevent pest infestations and the spread of diseases in animals—including wildlife, livestock, and domestic animals. By employing a One Health approach to disease management, we seek to reduce the burden of diseases affecting animals, including humans—we are just bi-pedal animals after all!
Tick Identification
Found a tick that you want identified? If you live in Kentucky, we have free resources available so you can learn what's biting you and your animals!
Click here for more information and submission instructions.
Kentucky cattle and equine owners - tell us about your pest problems!
UK researchers are conducting two surveys to assess pest concerns and control challenges affecting Kentucky cattle and equine owners and care-takers. Help direct the future of pest education and research initiatives in Kentucky by filling out these surveys!
Education
ESTABLISH TRUSTED NETWORKS
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Benjamin Franklin
Education goes both ways, and establishing trusted sources of expertise and listening to stakeholder needs are critical in developing effective educational messaging.
Surveillance
ASSESS BASELINES
You can't fix what you don't know.
Statisticians everywhere
Active and passive surveillance programs are critical to establish baselines, understand trends, and detect changes quickly.
Control
DEVELOP SOLUTIONS
The most damaging phrase in language is, it's always been done that way.
Rear Adm. Grace Hopper
By using integrated vector and pest management strategies, we can reduce environmental harm and pesticide resistance.
Our Focus
The primary focus of the lab is to reduce the burden of disease in animal systems, with a focus on: disease prevention, mitigation, and control; parasite-host interactions across diverse systems; and wildlife health and disease management.
Disease Risk Mitigation
There are many ways to reduce risk. The BITE Lab focuses on:
- Needs assessment surveys
- Education and outreach
- Prevention strategies
- Cost-effective control tools
Unraveling Parasite Host Interactions
This is an exciting field of applied research to better characterize parasite dynamics and host responses, to develop better control strategies down the road. We currently work in the following disease systems:
- Ticks at the livestock-wildlife interface
- Fly and tick management in equines and cattle
- Mange mite variants & wildlife species
- Co-parasitism between parasite species
Wildlife Disease Management
Yet another reason for One Health thinking: The health of our wildlife is intimately connected to our human, domestic animal, and environmental health. The lab is involved in projects on:
- Emerging diseases in wildlife
- Ticks on wildlife and peri-urban species
- Zoonotic pathogens in wildlife