It’s possible that disease-carrying tick populations are spreading quickly across Maine with the help of invasive plants.
A new five-year research project aims to find out if removing those plants reduces tick population, and if so, what landowners can do. The University of Maine announced the $1.8 million grant-funded project in a news release Monday.
Ticks and the diseases they carry, including Lyme, anaplasmosis and babesiosis, are becoming an increasing problem for Mainers and the state’s wildlife.
The state broke its tick-borne disease record for a second year in 2024, with more than 3,000 cases of Lyme disease reported. More than a thousand cases were reported of other diseases ticks carry and transfer to humans through their bites, including babesiosis and anaplasmosis.
Tick diseases are also killing moose and are the leading cause of death for moose calves.
Researchers say that people could make a difference in tick populations by removing certain plants from their land. The project also aims to develop recommendations for land management and a network for people to share information.
Climate change is commonly seen as a cause for the spread of ticks from southern Maine up the coast in recent years: warmer winters mean they can stay active longer and reproduce more.
Research has also found that invasive plants such as Japanese barberry, shrubby honeysuckle and common buckthorn can take over a forest and create a dark, wet thicket habitat that’s suited to ticks.
The UMaine project is led by professors with backgrounds in entomology, environmental, social and behavioral sciences. The social side of the research will study how people in Maine and Vermont manage their land for both ticks and invasive plants, and how they learn those practices from each other.
Researchers hope to find ways to reduce ticks and invasive species at the same time, according to the news release. Researchers will set up a “Forest Landowner Education & Research Network” for people to share resources.
Those interested in joining the research or becoming part of the network can email jessica.leahy@maine.edu.