Minnesota Launches Statewide Tick Monitoring Effort

Researchers are asking residents to report tick sightings through an app or by mailing specimens to help map populations across the state.

Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Hunting

Bold vector editorial illustration of a clear specimen tube with a tick inside, resting on prairie grass at a forest edge, evoking statewide tick citizen science. — Minnesota researchers are asking residents to report tick sightings through the iNaturalist app or by mailing specimens to a statewide monitoring project. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Live Poll

Do you think tick encounters are becoming more common in your area?

Researchers in Minnesota have launched a statewide citizen science effort to map and monitor tick populations. Residents can record sightings on the iNaturalist app or mail physical tick specimens to the project team.

Why it matters

The effort aims to update data on tick species diversity, geographic distribution, and animal host relationships across Minnesota. Citizen science is an effective tool for understanding how tick populations are shifting across the state.

Participants can submit a photo of the top and underside of a tick by email or upload it through iNaturalist, but the source does not provide counts of sightings or baseline population figures. Blacklegged ticks, winter ticks, rabbit ticks, and lone star ticks are the species the project seeks to track in relation to wild game, livestock, and native wildlife.

The players

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota is a public research university whose researchers are leading the statewide tick monitoring project and operating the associated dashboard and email reporting system.

The details

Participants upload a clear photo of the tick to iNaturalist or email photos to mnticks@umn.edu, including the date, location by county or nearest city, and host animal. Free tick collection packs with removal tools, storage tubes, data forms, and prepaid return envelopes are available, and the public can explore the Minnesota Ticks Dashboard for seasonal trends and county-level mapping.

Fall 2026: Tick collection effort launched while fall hunting seasons are underway

Seasonal Patterns

The project relies on iNaturalist, the community science platform that gathers wildlife observations from the public, to extend that model to tracking tick activity across Minnesota's counties. Its timing during fall hunting seasons places the collection effort alongside the period when hunters are most likely to encounter ticks on wild game.

Hunters and outdoor enthusiasts can take a photo of any tick they find, including the top and underside, and upload it to iNaturalist or email it to mnticks@umn.edu. Free collection packs with removal tools and prepaid return envelopes are available to help safely store and mail specimens.

The takeaway

Reporting even a single tick sighting with a photo, date, county, and host animal helps build a clearer statewide picture of where ticks are and which animals they rely on. Hunters during fall seasons are well positioned to contribute useful observations.