Dragging a cloth on the ground is a standard method for collecting ticks in their habitat. Paired with sweeping the cloth across low vegetation, the method is known as “flagging and dragging.” In the northern United States, flagging and dragging regularly collects blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) of all life stages: larva, nymph, and adult. In the southern U.S., though, there’s a peculiar difference: The method only turns up adults. (Photo credit: Mackenzie Tietjen)