Tick and Lyme Disease Research in Carp

Updated on 21 April 2020.

Message from Dr. Kulkarni:  “The UPTick project is coming soon to a neighbourhood near you! University of Ottawa researchers, led by Dr. Manisha Kulkarni, will be conducting a project on ticks and Lyme disease in the village of Carp and the adjacent Carp Hills over the next two years (2020-2021). The project aims to assess the impacts of urban change on tick populations and tick-borne disease transmission. For more information and FAQ visit www.uptickproject.ca.”

Councillor Eli El-Chantiry and Friends of the Carp Hills are sponsoring a meeting on Tuesday, 14 April at 7:30pm at the Carp Mess Hall, 2240 Craig Side Road, where epidemiology researchers from the University of Ottawa will talk about a new project in Carp and answer questions.

University of Ottawa’s School of Epidemiology & Public Health has a new project on ticks and Lyme disease in Ottawa called UPTick (“Best practices for urban planning in the context of climate change and emerging tick-borne diseases”).  The researchers are sampling four areas in Ottawa and the Carp Village/Carp Hills interface is one.  The project is supported by Ottawa Public Health and Councillor Eli El-Chantiry.

A map shows the study area highlighted in red. The study area is large because sampling sites will be located along a gradient of urban development that includes the three “groups”: 

  1. natural wooded zones,
  2. established residential/woodland interfaces, and
  3. within-neighborhood residential yards and trails.

The researchers will conduct field sampling for ticks and their small mammal hosts (e.g. mice) in different woodlands and neighborhoods where previous research has shown that tick populations are likely present. This will allow them to identify at-risk locations and populations for better targeting of interventions to reduce human exposure to ticks, and to understand the drivers of human risk for tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease. 

Three private landowners with large Carp Hills parcels that lie along the village boundary have agreed to provide access to the researchers.  This includes Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Tick populations in Carp and the Carp Hills have grown significantly in the last 7 to 8 years, with residents living along and near the boundary being particularly affected.  Landowners with large parcels of land (e.g. Ducks Unlimited Canada) along the village boundary have been contacted and asked to allow access for the researchers.  Sampling will also occur on publicly owned land in the village in parks and along trails.

For more information, download this six page PDF about Project UPTick.

Map of study area in red. (Map from UPTick Project.)