The Tick App offers resources to identify, remove ticks as part of Lyme disease study

There's an app for everything — even ticks. 

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Columbia University are studying how and where Wisconsin residents interact with ticks. They created The Tick App with a two-sided purpose — for research and as a resource.

The app includes guides on how to prevent bites and remove ticks if bitten. Though it's deer ticks that carry Lyme disease, the app's all-purpose diagrams help prevent and target any bite.

Users are asked to keep a daily "tick diary" and leave their location services on. This creates a record of what activities they did, where they were and how many ticks they came in touch with each day. 

“If we could look backward and see where you are during the day, then we might be able to see how you were exposed (to the ticks)," said Susan Paskewitz, a medical entomologist and professor at UW-Madison.

But the study isn't just about ticks. Its main focus is to gather data to track the spread of Lyme disease, which saw 4,299 cases last year in Wisconsin — a number that includes the confirmed, probable and estimated Lyme disease diagnoses in the state. 

Lyme disease is an infection caused by a bacterium, Borellia burgdorferi, that is carried by deer ticks. The mildest cases of Lyme cause a circular rash, while serious infections can affect the heart or nervous system, sometimes causing death in vulnerable patients. Wisconsin is included in the list of just 14 states that accounted for 95 percent of all Lyme cases in 2015.

But that figure is just the tip of the iceberg.

Rebecca Osborn, a vectorborne disease entomologist for the Wisconsin Department of Health, said the actual number of Lyme disease cases in Wisconsin is likely closer to 40,000. The CDC reports that the actual number of infections is about 10 times higher than the number of reported cases. 

"The main message here is not the specific number, but that the true burden of disease is much higher than what our surveillance system is able to capture," Osborn said. “Unfortunately we are just in a high incident state (and) we don’t expect that to change anytime soon."

Wisconsin had 947 recorded cases of the disease last year that led to hospitalization and one death. 

But this summer's tick season is not expected to be any worse than last year's.

Ticks showing up in odd places

Although the number of Lyme cases isn't expected to change, Paskewitz said this tick season has been an odd one. 

"We’re finding ticks in some really strange places," she said.

RELATED:Ticks are appearing more frequently in backyards. Here's how to target ticks close to home.

Usually ticks populate wooded areas, but this year they are being spotted in backyards and at the grassy edges of gardens.

There are a few solutions Paskewitz suggests to keep ticks out of the yard. Tick tubes can be bought at stores like Home Depot or made out of toilet paper tubes and cotton balls.

Mice are a major carrier of Lyme disease, and they will try to nest in the tube, coating their fur with insecticide. When the ticks bite them, the poison transfers and they die. This method is not harmful to mice or their predators, making it a safe method for targeting ticks.

Paskewitz also suggests laying down a two-foot border of mulch between the backyard and forest. This not only keeps ticks from crossing into the yard but can remind people once they cross over to take caution.  

The groups that are most at risk for Lyme infections are children 5 to 10 years old and anyone over the age of 50. 

“Make sure you do those daily tick checks if you are in areas where you could be exposed. Lyme is nothing to take for granted," Paskewitz said. 

The Tick App has only been on the market for about a month, but as of June 25 it had more than 600 users. It is available as a free download for Apple devices.

Jennifer Walter can be reached at JWalter@gannett.com or on Twitter.