During the past fifteen years, the Freehold Health Department has received over a million dollars from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) to conduct ongoing research that is designed to evaluate individual and integrated strategies to control the principal tick vector of Lyme disease, Ixodes scapularis.
Past studies have involved active Lyme disease surveillance, the ecology of and the geographical distribution of tick vectors, seasonal tick distributions and host associations, tick infection rates, tick habitats, and the development of several novel tick control strategies, including rodent bait boxes and the '4-poster' topical treatment device for deer.
Currently, Freehold Township and NJDHSS are working to generate a Plan for Widespread and Commercial Dissemination of Tick Control Strategies to an array of potential user groups.
To learn more about specific tickborne diseases
Informational brochures are available through our Department; please call 732-294-2060.