Summer is the season for ticks, mosquitoes and other insects carrying vector-borne diseases such as Lyme disease and West Nile virus that can pose a danger to humans, pets and livestock.

As the nation observes National Mosquito Control Awareness Week June 15-21, University of Tennessee Extension specialists and UT Institute of Agriculture researchers have more resources available to help educate the public and prevent the spread of disease. The VECTOR Library, which stands for Vector Education, Community and Training Online Resources, provides more than 1,400 educational materials from the Cooperative Extension System across the United States in a centralized online database.

The library was developed by the VectorEd Network, created through a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant, stands for Vector-Borne Disease Regional Training and Evaluation Center. It is led by Penn State in collaboration with five additional institutions including the University of Tennessee.  

From satellite images taken over a period of 26 years, a team at the UCO shows how a system of irrigation channels dating back to the Roman Empire increases the water content of the soil adjacent to them