Minimizing tick bite exposure: tick biology, management and

personal protection

Arkansas Ticks

Hard Ticks (Ixodidae)• Lone star tick - Amblyomma americanum• Gulf Coast tick - Amblyomma maculatum• American dog tick - Dermacentor variabilis• Winter tick - Dermacentor albipictus• Black-legged tick - Ixodes scapularis• Brown dog tick - Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Soft Ticks (Argasidae)• Fowl tick - Argus persicus• Spinose ear tick - Otobius megnini

Hard tick Soft tick

Three-host tick life cycle

Lone star tick, Amblyomma americanumDistribution

• From Texas throughout south-central and south-eastern US.

• Range is expanding.

• Abundance in an area is influenced by habitat, host availability and other factors (natural enemies).

Lone Star Tick• Very abundant in AR, aggressive

feeder, readily bites humans.

• Woodlands and woodland edges.

• Three-host tick; 1 year life cycle.

• Adults most abundant in May, June, July; appear in March.

• Nymphs abundant in April or May and August.

• Larva (seed) ticks abundant in late summer.

• Alpha-gal allergy, ehrlichiosis, STARI (southern tick associated rash illness – agent unknown), Heartland virus, Rickettsia parkeri, and tularemia; cytauxzoonosis (bobcat fever) in domestic cats.

Engorgement of adult female lone starthrough time

How important are white-tailed deer as tick hosts?

• Lone star and black-legged tick populations are expanding geographically and in density, especially in areas with increasing deer herds.

• Other ticks species do use deer as hosts but not at the frequency of the lone star and black-legged ticks; lone star larvae, nymphs and adults readily feed on white-tailed deer.

Gulf Coast Tick• Now established in Arkansas.

• Three-host tick.

• Long host list: large and small mammals, birds.

• Diseases – Heartwater disease in Africa (Cowdria ruminantium), also transmits Rickettsia parkeri (a newly described spotted fever); Hepatozoon americanum(American canine hepatozoonosis– dog ingests infected tick).

American dog tick, Dermacentor variabilisDistribution

• Along the Atlantic coast, New England to Florida, west to Montana and west Texas.

• Was once more common than the lone star tick.

American Dog Tick

• Three-host tick, 1-2 year life cycle, depending on conditions.

• Bites occasionally cause tick paralysis.

• Diseases: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, anaplasmosis in cattle, possibly cytauxzoonosis(bobcat fever) in domestic cats.

• Once more commonly encountered than the lone star tick.

Black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularisDistribution

• Eastern North America, Atlantic coast, mid-west and Gulf coast region

Black-legged Tick• Three-host tick, 1 year life

cycle in Arkansas.

• Adults feed on deer cattle, horses, etc.

• Immature ticks feed on birds, small mammals and lizards.

• Vector of Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, and Lyme disease (Northeast, Northcentral and mid-Atlantic). Two cases reported in Arkansas in 2016.

• Readily feed on deer, will feed on people.

Brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineusDistribution

• Global occurrence.

• Most common tick found indoors.

• Preferred host – dog, opportunistic on other animals.

• Vector of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the West

Minimizing Tick Bite Exposure

•Avoid Tick Infested Areas

•Wear Proper Clothing

•Use Tick Repellents

•Routine Self-Checking

•Controlling Ticks in the Environment

•Controlling Ticks on Hosts

Repellents•Clothing repellents (permethrin) ex.

Permanone – apply to shoes, socks, pants, shirts and gear (pretreated clothing can be purchased).

• Skin repellents (DEET) – for exposed skin.

• Effective non-DEET clothing and skin repellents are available (Ex. Picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, BioUD.

Common Repellents

Clothing OnlySkin Repellents

Clothing and Self-Checking

• Wear light –colored clothing, tuck in shirt tail and pants into socks.

• Inspect yourself frequently for ticks (at least twice daily), examine clothing and body twice daily when in infested areas.

• Prompt removal of ticks, the longer a tick is attached, the greater the chance of it transmitting a pathogen (4-48 hrs., most > 24 hr).

• If you are bitten, record the date of the tick bite.

Tick removal

• Grasp the tick with tweezers.

• Pull upward with steady pressure, do not jerk or twist the tick.

• If mouthparts remain in the skin, remove them with a sterilized needle (similar to removing a splinter).

• Write down the date of the tick bite. Removed ticks can be preserved in a vial with alcohol.

• Wash hands and bite area thoroughly with soapy water then apply an antiseptic such as alcohol.

Tick Control in the Environment• Broadcast application of insecticides/acaricides

• not feasible for large areas, used in yards and public use areas.• shorter-term management option.• Bifenthrin has good knockdown and residual activity.

• Control weeds and brush, keep lawn mowed, remove debris and leaf litter around the yard, especially near woods line • reduces humidity of microclimate lowering tick survival.• reduces harborage for wildlife that bring ticks into the area.

• Exclude wildlife from yard (fencing out deer – not easy)

• Tick control on pets • will reduce tick abundance in yards.

• Controlled burns – can reduce lone star tick populations, may take a couple of years for reduction to become apparent

Tick Control on Dogs

• Oral treatments – require Rx.• NexGard (afoxolaner), every 30

days, ticks and fleas, > 8 weeks of age

• Bravecto (fluralaner), lasts 12 weeks, ticks and fleas, > 6 months old and 4.4 lbs.

• Simparica (sarolaner), every 30 days, ticks and fleas, > 6 months old and 2.8 pounds

• Spot-ons

• Frontline Plus (fipronil and methoprene)

• Promeris for Dogs (metaflumizone and amitraz)

• Certifect for Dogs (fipronil, methoprene and amitraz)

Some of the newer dog collars will last several weeks Seresto (flumethrin and imidacloprid) will last about 8 months (repels and kills ticks and fleas) and will cost about as much as the oral treatments – most are available without Rx.

Tick Control for Cats

• Oral tablets for tick control in cats – still in development.

• Spot-ons

• Bravecto (fluralaner), every 12 weeks, fleas and ticks, > 6 months or 2.6 lbs. – Rx. Only

• Others include Frontline Plus, Pet Armor and Bio-Spot

• Cat collars

• Sentry PurrScriptions Dual Action Collar for cats (phenothrin and propoxur), 8 months, fleas and ticks, >12 weeks of age

• Seresto Collar (flumethrinand imidacloprid), 8 months, ticks and fleas, > 12 weeks of age

Tick Control on Important Hosts• Deer self-application device – “4-poster” feeder station

• Deer contact acaricide treated paint rollers when consuming corn, treats ears, head and neck.

• Studies in the NE show black-legged tick reductions.• Tennessee study showed a reduction in lone star ticks; the cost per station was

about $20 per month; one station would cover 40-50 acres.

• Feeding systemic insecticides to deer – NOT A LABELED USE• Feeding ivermectin-treated corn to deer reduced lone star tick abundance (TX

and TN studies). Also effective against cattle fever ticks.

Ivermectin fed to key deer used in recent Florida screwworm eradication efforts. Key deer are an endangered species.

Questions?

The Arkansas Tick-borne Disease Project

Tick Importance• Nationwide, Arkansas ranks at or near the top for Spotted

Fever (*819), Ehrlichiosis (*200) & Tularemia (*32).

• Other Arkansas tick-borne disease include: Anaplasmosis(15), Babesiosis (NR), Southern tick associated rash illness (STARI) (NR) and Lyme disease (2).

• Human tick-borne diseases can be fatal or cause long-term debilitating disease.

• Arkansas has great abundance of ticks and tick-borne disease and these diseases do go untreated or misdiagnosed.

• More statewide information on tick distribution and the diseases they carry is needed.

* Reported cases 2016

Study Goals• Determine what tick-borne pathogens are present in

Arkansas ticks.

• Identify high risk areas for tick-borne diseases.

• Detect genetic difference that may make ticks in some areas better vectors.

• The study provides Extension with an opportunity to educate our clientele about minimizing tick borne-disease exposure and to relay result back to the county.

• This is not a diagnostic service to find out if a tick that bit you was carrying a pathogen – other fee-for-service companies perform this type diagnostic service.

Citizen Science – Tick Collecting• County resident participation

allows for a much broader study (75 counties).

• Increases local awareness of ticks and tick-borne disease.

• Our communities will see the great work we can do together.

The Tick Kit

• Each county will have 40 kits.

• Each kit contains 5 vials, a data recording card and directions.

• Data sheet and vials are color coded.

Who gets the kit?

• Anyone in your county interested in participating.

• Key in on at least some individuals you know will collect ticks.• Cattle producers, outdoor

enthusiast, foresters, gardeners, hunters, fishermen, pet owners, etc.

• With local citizens collecting it will be easy to get 200 or more ticks per county.

Filling out the data card

• Match color coding of vial to color on data sheet.

• Record county, locality and/or GPS info and date.

Recording Locality Information

• Location of tick collections is very important.

• Record so that someone could point to the location on a map and return to the general area.

• Examples: GPS coordinates from a smartphone, address, name of a park, nearest permanent landmark.

• If you covered a lot of ground and collected multiple ticks while out fishing, hunting, etc. give a general location or GPS coordinates of the area

Prefer DMS (degrees, minutes, seconds) but DD (decimal degrees) will work.

Frequently asked questions• When do we start?

• Now - ticks are active. Black-legged adults will be active in the Fall –Oct – Nov are good months (deer hunters), can collect from harvested deer.

• What kind of tick should I collect?

• Any intact living tick.

• Ticks can be free-living or attached to the host.

• If attached to a host, remove carefully so the mouthparts are intact.

• Can I put more than one tick in a vial?

• Yes, as long as they are from the same location.

Sending in the Ticks

• Make certain vials and data card is securely sealed in the small Ziploc bag.

• Send in completed kits every 2-4 weeks.

• Mail to:Kelly Loftin

Cralley-Warren Research Lab

2601 N. Young Avenue

Fayetteville, AR 72704

Call if you need more kits.

Preliminary Summary

• What will be screened• Rickettsia (spotted fever)

• Ehrlichia (ehrlichiosis)

• Borrelia (Lyme, STARI)

• Anaplasma (anaplasmosis)

• Francisella (tularemia)

• Coxiella (Q fever)

• Results so far• 1500 screened (800 from

public).

• Most from NW Arkansas.

• Majority were lone star ticks followed by American dog and black-legged ticks.

• Recovered Rickettsia spp. from 24% of lone star and Gulf coast ticks; 7% of American dog ticks.

• 4 Rickettsia spp. supports sentiment that spotted fever is large complex of species.

• Screening for other pathogens is on-going.

Questions?