The blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the primary vector of the pathogen that causes Lyme disease. A new study in Connecticut finds that residential habitats harbor a greater diversity of animal hosts for ticks, many of which don’t transmit the Lyme disease pathogen to ticks as well as white-footed mice do, thereby leading to lower levels of the pathogen’s presence in residential areas compared to woodland habitats. (Photo credit: Lennart Tange/Flickr, CC BY 2.0 )