How to Prevent Tick Bites, Lyme and Other Tick-borne Diseases in Humans and Pets

Tuesday, June 23, 2015 at 7:00 p.m.
Harvard Public Library, 4 Pond Road, Harvard, MA

This is the season for enjoying the outdoors, whether hiking, gardening, or just playing in the yard, but many of us have had contact with ticks, tick bites, and even Lyme disease. How can you protect your family and pets from tick bites and prevent tick-borne diseases like Lyme, Babesiosis, and Anaplasmosis? Come learn the latest information from a panel of experts from the fields of public health, wildlife biology, academic research, and veterinary medicine. Our panelists in Harvard will be Dr. Barbara Roth-Schecter, Dover Board of Health & Lyme Disease Committee; David Stainbrook, Mass Wildlife Deer Project Leader; and Dr. Michelle Bianco, DVM, Mid-State Mobile Veterinary Clinic. Their presentations will cover the life cycle of local ticks, local tick-borne diseases, disease transmission and symptoms in humans and pets, best practices to avoid tick bites, as well as efforts to control tick populations. There will also be a time for audience questions to the panel. This is a rare opportunity to ask a group of experts questions specific to our region.

Dr. Barbara Roth-Schecter, Dover Board of Health & Lyme Disease Committee, has been in the field of pharmacology for 40 years.  Dr. Roth-Schecter was a member of the state Commission that wrote: "Lyme Disease in Massachusetts: A Report Issued by the Special Commission to Conduct an Investigation and Study of the Incidence and Impacts of Lyme Disease" (February 28, 2013). David Stainbrook is the state's deer and moose biologist, responsible for managing deer and moose across the commonwealth. He has been with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife for over 3 years, and works out of the field headquarters in Westborough, MA.  He did his graduate work at Penn State University on wildlife management, with a focus on wildlife population dynamics of white-tailed deer. Dr. Michelle Bianco, DVM received her degree from Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, and has been in practice for the past 17 years, opening the Mid-State Mobile Veterinary Clinic in 2005.

This NRWA "Tick Talk" is free and open to the public, made possible by a grant from the Nashoba Valley Community Healthcare Fund, managed by the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts and the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. Pre-registration is requested for planning purposes. To pre-register, or for more information, please contact Al Futterman, NRWA Land Programs Director, at (978) 448-0299, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  Please specify the date and location of the program you wish to attend.

We hope you'll join us to learn about tick bite risk management.  We want to encourage everyone to get outdoors safely and connect with their local landscapes for their own well-being and that of the environment.