However, this does not mean that ticks cannot be found below these temperatures: ticks of the genus Dermacentor, also known as forest ticks, actually prefer cooler temperatures. And even the common wood tick, the most common tick species in Austria, can be found at temperatures below 10 °C. 

With the active support of citizen scientists, AGES monitors the occurrence of ticks and the pathogens they transmit. Last year, we received 8,298 ticks from all over Austria. Almost 24 per cent of the ticks were carriers of Borrelia bacteria. Other pathogens such as rickettsia or anaplasma were also detected, albeit less frequently. We are looking forward to the active participation of citizen scientists again this year

. The longer and the more ticks we receive, the more accurate our knowledge of the distribution of ticks and their pathogens throughout Austria will be.

Live ticks can only be handed in at the following collection points (additional collection points are currently being prepared):

• Vienna: AGES, Währinger Straße 25a, 1090 Vienna Please place them directly in the tick drop-off box to the right of the entrance (available 24 hours a day).
• Lower Austria: AGES, Robert Koch Gasse 17, 2340 Mödling
• Upper Austria: AGES, Wieningerstraße 8, 4020 Linz, drop-off times Mon-Thu 7:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. and Fri 7:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
• Salzburg: AGES, Innsbrucker Bundesstraße 47, 5020 Salzburg, drop-off times Mon-Thu 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and Fri 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
• Styria: AGES, Beethovenstraße 6, 8010 Graz, drop-off times Mon-Fri 7:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. at the reception desk
• Tyrol: AGES, Technikerstraße 70, 6020 Innsbruck. Please follow the arrows to the sample drop box (available around the clock)
• Carinthia: Landesmuseum Kärnten, Liberogasse 6, 9020 Klagenfurt. The tick mailbox is located on the fence and is accessible around the clock
• Vorarlberg: inatura, Jahngasse 9, 6850 Dornbirn, drop-off possible during opening hours daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

When submitting ticks, please also provide us with the following information:

• Date (date found or removed)
• Postcode and town/area where the tick was found (as accurately as you know and wish to disclose)
• Was the tick removed from a host (human, animal)? If so, which one?

Further information on submitting ticks
Detailed information on ticks and the diseases they transmit