Researchers at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, New York, have determined the regional mouse population is skyrocketing, and mice are usually the transmitters of Lyme. “It certainly is a predictor because the white footed mouse in our region of the country generally is the mammal that carries the most Lyme disease, and transmits that to the ticks that bite people,” said Pat Smith, president of the Lyme Disease Association, headquartered in Wall.