News

Have Missouri farmers reported finding 'boxes of ticks' in fields?

Snopes reached out to hundreds of Missouri officials to find answers about social media users claiming farmers reported finding the suspicious boxes.

by Jordan Liles, Published April 2, 2026 Updated April 7, 2026


A calf with a yellow ear tag numbered 7018 peers through a metal fence and into the camera, with a barn visible out of focus in the background. The sky is overcast. The camera is situated close to the cow's face.

Image courtesy of Ryan McGuire, accessed via Pixabay


In late March 2026, social media users shared a claim that farmers reported finding boxes of ticks on their property. This rumor originated from a user whose accounts identified her as a holistic doctor named Sarah Outlaw. Outlaw shared the claim in a video on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok (archived), receiving more than 10 million total views. The five-second video, showing horses in a field, featured an onscreen caption reading, "Farmers are reporting boxes of ticks being found in fields. This should concern you."

In short, no evidence supported the rumor of farmers finding boxes of ticks.

In Snopes' correspondence with Outlaw she was unable to provide evidence, including authentic photos, documents or other data. After her initial posts, she narrowed down the alleged activity as occurring in rural Missouri but declined to provide us contact information for any involved parties, citing their privacy.

We reached out individually to hundreds of Missouri officials associated with city and county health and police departments to ask whether they received any information regarding farmers finding boxes of ticks. As of this writing, no officials confirmed any such reports, and at least three dozen counties said they had either received no reports of boxes of ticks or were unaware of any such activity.

Lisa Cox, communications director with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, also said the department had "not received reports as such."

Searches for "ticks" and "boxes" located no credible news reports of suspicious boxes but instead found details and news media outlets' articles about bait boxes. According to Consumer Reports, the small boxes attract rodents — carriers of tick-borne pathogens — and brush them with insecticide that can later kill ticks. The boxes, in past years featured in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention research, leave the rodents unharmed. We have not seen any data suggesting farmers confused bait boxes with suspicious boxes filled with ticks.

Austin Grim, director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, told Snopes via email that boxes can be used to collect ticks for research:

We have not gotten any reports of such circumstances. However, an often used means to collect ticks for study is to use CO2 traps that are typically boxes that release CO2 slowly to attract ticks. To the best of my knowledge anytime the university or another entity does tick collection they ensure that the property owners are asked and notified when using their property as a collection site.

Breaking down the rumor

On March 30, Outlaw shared the brief video about farmers finding boxes of ticks on social media. Her Instagram post's text caption mentioned an increase in the tick population — a matter recently reported on by Time.com and others — as well as the alleged source of the "boxes of ticks" story (emphasis ours):

Something is happening with ticks right now, and farmers are starting to talk.

I am hearing directly from farmers in the Midwest about unusual tick activity in their fields. Reports of boxes of ticks being found. Reports of ticks being seen in ways that feel out of the ordinary.

[…]

Whether every single report has an explanation yet or not, one thing is clear. Ticks are increasing. Exposure is increasing. And so are the health challenges that come with it.

This is not about fear. This is about awareness.

In an April 2 email to Snopes, Outlaw changed her story somewhat from her initial posts, no longer saying she heard directly from farmers but instead through an unidentified "trusted practitioner colleague." Outlaw's Threads post (archived) from April 1 specifically mentioned "a private seminar last weekend" involving Missouri practitioners. She told us in her email (emphasis ours):

The information shared in my post was relayed to me directly from a trusted practitioner colleague who works with farmers in a rural Missouri community. As this involves private individuals, I will not be providing names, contact information, or identifying details.

My intent in sharing the post was to bring awareness to a report that was communicated to me firsthand, not to present it as a formally investigated or independently verified news claim.

We then asked Outlaw for the name of a Missouri county or area to narrow our search. In response, she declined to share further details, again citing privacy:

I'm not able to provide additional geographic detail beyond what I've already shared at this time. Even narrowing to a specific region could risk identifying the individuals or communities involved. If anything changes as more information comes to light directly from these farmers, I would have no problem sharing that with you.

As mentioned previously, I would encourage your team to pursue independent reporting within rural farming areas where these types of observations would be most likely to occur.

In an Instagram story on April 2, Outlaw told her followers, "This is an observation given to me from a practitioner from farmers in Missouri. It's not a lie. It's true."

Outlaw said in a subsequent Instagram story that "a lot of these small communities that this information is coming from, there are Amish there, and obviously they do not have cameras. So we're not getting photos but there have been some reports of photos and from some other areas I'm trying get, and I don't want things that are AI." She also said Amish populations are against filing reports with local governments.

That belief that Amish populations don't communicate about matters of importance with government officials contradicted information cited in the 2013 book "The Amish" from The Johns Hopkins University Press. The book's authors wrote, "Long-established settlements normally develop amicable relationships with nearby residents and civic leaders," and, "In some settlements, Amish leaders have amicable relationships with municipal officials, who informally consult with them on pending zoning regulations and other matters of mutual interest."

Counties confirming they received no reports of boxes of ticks

In our attempts to connect with Missouri officials, we have so far heard back from the following counties, as well as the city of Kansas City, with officials telling us they had either received no reports of boxes of ticks or were unaware of any such activity:

We will update this list should we receive any additional responses.

For further reading, in 2022, we reported on another farm-related rumor regarding John Deere. According to that claim, people representing the agricultural machinery company's "partnership program" called farmers by phone to press them on converting their equipment to electric-power tractors and combines by the following year.


By Jordan Liles

Jordan Liles is a Senior Reporter who has been with Snopes since 2016.

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