BeBop Labs

BeBop Labs is a non-profit organization researching, gathering, and disseminating data and knowledge on health.

11/08/2025

🕷️ Tick of the Week: Blacklegged (Deer) Tick (Ixodes scapularis)
Found across New England and a key carrier of Lyme disease.

Did you know it can be active even in winter if temps are above freezing? ❄️

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization. Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

11/01/2025

🍂 Fall Tick Alert!
Ticks are still active in November—especially in leaf litter and brushy areas.

✅ Wear long sleeves
✅ Check after hikes
✅ Send us your ticks!

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization. Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

10/25/2025

🔍 How to Safely Remove and Send a Tick 🐜
1. Use fine-tipped tweezers.
2. Pull upward with steady pressure.
3. Place the tick in a sealed bag or vial.
4. Fill out our form at beboplabs.org
📦 Mail it in. You’re helping real research!

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization. Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

10/18/2025

🧪 Help Us Fight Lyme Disease!
We're collecting ticks in New England to study tick-borne disease. Found a tick? Learn how to send it in at beboplabs.org/ticks

🐜 Every tick tells a story. Help us uncover it.

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization. Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

10/11/2025

Interesting Facts about Ticks in New England

1. They’re Active All Winter (When It’s Warm Enough)
• If it’s above 37°F, adult black-legged ticks can be out questing — even in January.
• That means a warm winter hike can still put you at risk.

2. They Prefer Humidity
• Ticks dry out easily, so they stick to shady, moist environments like leaf litter and stone walls — but they can crawl onto sunny lawns if they need to find a host.

3. Nymphs Cause Most Lyme Infections
• These poppy-seed–sized ticks are so small most people never notice them.
• They’re most active in late spring and early summer.

4. Ticks Can Carry More Than One Pathogen
• A single tick bite can transmit multiple infections (e.g., Lyme + Anaplasmosis).
• This is called a co-infection and can make symptoms more severe.

5. Birds Spread Ticks Too
• It’s not just deer and mice — migratory birds drop ticks far from where they picked them up, helping expand tick populations.

6. White-Footed Mice Are the Real Culprit
• Deer get the blame, but mice are the main reservoir for Lyme disease bacteria.
• Ticks that feed on mice as larvae become infected, then spread disease later.

7. Ticks Can Detect You From Several Feet Away
• Their Haller’s organ (on their front legs) can sense your breath, sweat, and body heat, letting them grab onto you as you pass.

8. They’re Surprising Survivors
• Ticks can survive being submerged in water for days and withstand freezing temperatures by burrowing into leaf litter or soil.

9. Tick Numbers Are Exploding
• Some areas of New England have seen a lot more black-legged ticks in the past 20 years due to reforestation, suburbanization, and warmer winters.

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization.
Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

10/08/2025

📊 Spring & Summer Tick Count! 🕷
- Ticks received this spring & summer so far: 1,092
- Dog Ticks: 786
- Blacklegged (Deer) Ticks: 303
- Disease Rate: TBA

BeBop Labs does test for ticks, for free, but does not guarantee a turnaround time. BeBop Labs is a volunteer-run organization. Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free. We partner to test our ticks, but all of our testing is done in bulk at the end of the season, due to our limited resources.

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation

Photo source: CDC

10/04/2025

🕷️ Tick Basics for New Englanders 🕷️

Common Species:
• Black-legged tick (deer tick) – main concern, spreads Lyme disease & others.
• Dog tick – much less likely to spread disease here, but can cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
• Lone star tick – now moving north into New England.

Where They Live:
• Wooded edges, tall grass, leaf litter, stone walls, brush piles, and even suburban yards.
• They thrive where deer, mice, and birds are present.

When They’re Active:
• Any time it’s above freezing — not just summer!
• Nymphs (tiny poppy-seed stage) peak May–July — the riskiest time for Lyme disease.
• Adults are active spring & fall — you can get bitten in October, November, or even a warm January.

🦠 Tick-Borne Diseases in New England 🦠
• Lyme disease – most common; can cause a rash, fever, joint pain.
• Anaplasmosis – flu-like illness, rising in cases.
• Babesiosis – parasite that infects red blood cells.
• Powassan virus – rare but can be severe.
• Borrelia miyamotoi – causes relapsing fever.
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever – very rare here but possible via dog tick.

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization.
Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

09/27/2025

🕷️ Tick Fun Facts

1. They Don’t Jump or Fly
Even though people often think they do, ticks can’t jump or fly — they “quest.”
They climb to the tip of grass or leaves, hold out their front legs, and wait to grab a passing host.

2. They’re Tiny but Tough
Nymph-stage black-legged ticks are about the size of a poppy seed — and still able to transmit Lyme disease.

3. Tick Superpower: Patience
A tick can wait months — even up to 2 years — without feeding while waiting for a host.

4. They’re Arachnids, Not Insects
Ticks have 8 legs, just like spiders and scorpions. (And yes, they’re related!)

5. They Have Special Saliva
Tick saliva contains a natural anesthetic — that’s why you usually don’t feel the bite while they feed.

6. They Can Smell You with Their Legs
Ticks have special sensory organs (Haller’s organs) on their front legs that detect your body heat, breath, and sweat from a distance.

7. Their Bites Are a Slow Process
A tick can feed for 3–5 days before dropping off — which is why daily tick checks are so important.

8. They’re Expanding Their Range
Warmer winters and rising deer populations have allowed black-legged ticks to spread to nearly every county in New England.

9. They Help Scientists Track Climate Change
Tick populations and infection rates are closely monitored by researchers to study the effects of warming temperatures.

10. Some Animals Are Resistant
Opossums eat most ticks that try to bite them — a single opossum can kill thousands of ticks each season!

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization.
Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

09/24/2025

Scientists focus on genetically engineering mice to cut Lyme disease transmission.

Read article: https://cbsn.ws/3Kid3fX

09/20/2025

🧲 Tick Removal
• Use fine-tipped tweezers.
• Grasp tick close to the skin and pull straight out.
• Clean bite area with soap and water or alcohol.
• Save tick in a zip lock bag or tap for identification/testing if needed.

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization.
Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

09/13/2025

📅 Seasonal Activity 🌱☀️🍂❄️
• Nymphs (tiny and most dangerous) are most active May–July.
• Adults are most active October–May, especially in early spring and late fall.
• Ticks are active any time temperatures are above freezing.

🛡️ Prevention Tips
- Wear light-colored clothing to spot ticks easily.
- Use EPA-approved repellents (e.g., DEET, permethrin-treated clothing).
- Tuck pants into socks, and wear long sleeves in tick-prone areas.
- Do tick checks after outdoor activities, especially around the scalp, ears, armpits, and groin.
- Shower within 2 hours of coming indoors to reduce infection risk.

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization.
Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

09/06/2025

Pictured here is an AI rendering of a black legged tick (deer tick) and it’s pretty accurate. Bebop Labs is still tracking ticks and tick borne diseases, so please send us any ticks you find! Enjoy the outdoors and remember to do those tick checks!

📝 Tick questionnaires ➡️ BebopLabs.org/send-ticks

🔬 Our research publication ➡️ BebopLabs.org/our-publications

🙏 Donations ➡️ BebopLabs.org/donations/bebop-labs-donation
Bebop Labs is a volunteer-run organization.
Throughout the year we apply for grants and ask for donations to make tick testing free.

Address

PO Box 183
Salisbury, NH
03268

Website

https://www.beboplabs.org/

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Bebop Labs (Nonprofit)

BeBop Labs is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) status to research, gather, and disseminate scientific data and knowledge on impacts to health and the environment. We are currently gathering information on ticks and tick-borne disease in northern NH. In the future we will test for microbial presence in other vectors and environmental sources as well as provide public access to a collaborative science laboratory for our community to solve their unsolved problems.

Our guiding principles are:

Health and wellbeing of our community, employees, and partners.

Increasing knowledge and understanding through dissemination of scientific data, innovation, and hands- on education.