Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in Bulloch County, Georgia

Abstract

An 18-mo study was conducted in Bulloch County, Georgia, to determine tick species composition, seasonal activity of individual tick species, and host-tick associations. The following 7 methods of tick collection were included: (1) live trapping of potential host animals, (2) checking wild game, (3) drag sampling, (4) carbon dioxide attraction, (5) checking livestock, road kills, nests, and burrows, (6) samples submitted from veterinarians, and (7) ticks collected by local residents and submitted for identification. Twelve tick species (Ixodidae) were identified. Blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, and American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), had the widest host ranges and were the most numerous. White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann), supported 5 tick species, the greatest number on any host. Of 55 animal species examined, 16 mammal, 5 bird, and 3 reptile species were parasitized by ticks. Opossums, Didelphis virginiana Kerr, and cotton mice, Peromyscus gossypinus (LeConte), were the most commonly examined wild animals.