Danbury Researchers Seek Homeowners For Backyard Tick Study

DANBURY, CT — The Tickborne Disease Prevention Laboratory at Western Connecticut State University is seeking Connecticut homeowners to participate in a residential study evaluating natural tick control products, including cedarwood oil sprays.

Now in its second year, Project ITCH — short for “Is Tick Control Helping?” — is focused on determining the effectiveness of commercially available cedar oil products in reducing tick populations and lowering the risk of Lyme disease. The study is part of the New England Center of Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases, a federally designated research partnership.

“Natural tick control products are becoming increasingly popular among homeowners in our region,” said Dr. Neeta Connally, professor and director of the WCSU Tick Lab. “But many of these products, including those containing cedar oil, have not been well studied.”

Graduate student Sophia Chiaia, whose thesis research is part of Project ITCH, is helping lead the study. Participants may receive a free cedar oil treatment on their property, though researchers are also seeking untreated properties for comparison. Researchers will visit selected sites this spring and summer to measure tick abundance.

Interested residents are asked to complete a brief eligibility survey online here. For more information, contact ticklab@wcsu.edu.