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Ticks of the Southeast The Big Five and Their Management

LT Jeff Hertz, MSC, USN PhD Student, Entomology and Nematology Dept., University of Florida

What are Ticks? �  Ticks are MITES….really, really big mites.

•  No antennae and never have wings•  Legs: larvae have 3 pair; nymphs and adults have 4.

�  Obligate blood-feeding ectoparasites of vertebrates

�  Two major families:*

�  Aragasidae = Soft ticks

�  Ixodidae = Hard ticks

*actually 3 families, but the third consists of one species found in Africa

Typical  Hard  Tick  Life  Cycle  

Eggs

Larvae Nymphs Male

Female

Feed on vertebrate hosts between each molt and prior to mating.

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Importance �  Very pestiferous – ‘tick worry’

Importance �  Cause unique medical conditions

Tick Paralysis Red Meat Allergy

Importance �  Transmit a vast diversity of pathogens.

Spirochetes

Protozoa Other Bacteria

Viruses

Rickettsia Bacteria

Rickettsia

Anaplasma

Ehrlichia

Francisella

Coxiella

Borrelia

Babesia

Powassan Heartland

Bourbon

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Mosquito- and Tick-borne Human Diseases Reported in the United States, 2012

West Nile virus

Malaria

Dengue virus

California serogroup viruses

EEE virus

St. Louis encephalitis virus

Lyme disease

Spotted fever rickettsiosis

Ehrlichiosis/ Anaplasmosis

Babesiosis Tularemia

Q fever Powassan virus

Mosquito-Borne

The Big Five

Blacklegged Tick

Transmits Lyme disease

Babesiosis Anaplasmosis

Powassan disease

American Dog Tick

Transmits SF Rickettsiosis

Tularemia Paralysis

Lone Star Tick

Transmits Ehrlichiosis

SF Rickettsiosis Tularemia

Heartland virus Bourbon virus

STARI

Gulf Coast Tick

Transmits SF Rickettsiosis

Paralysis

Brown Dog Tick

Transmits SF Rickettsiosis

Ehrlichiosis

Blacklegged Tick (deer tick) Ixodes scapularis •  Where found: Widely distributed

throughout the eastern United States, and parts of Canada and Mexico.

•  Seasonality:

•  Adults: fall, winter, and early spring

•  Immatures: spring - summer

•  Hosts:

•  Adults: deer

•  Immatures: lizards, sm. mammals, birds

•  Note: Northern and southern populations have markedly different feeding behaviors. This results in different risk profiles for pathogen transmission.

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American Dog Tick Dermacentor variabilis •  Where found: Widely distributed

throughout the United States, except parts of the Rocky Mountains; also found in parts of Canada and Mexico.

•  Seasonality:

•  Adults: spring - summer

•  Immatures: spring - summer

•  Hosts:

•  Adults: dogs, med. mammals

•  Immatures: sm. mammals (rodents)

•  Note: People or pets may bring them into the home; However, they will not become established indoors.

Gulf Coast Tick Amblyomma maculatum •  Where found: Found in coastal areas of

the United States along the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico

•  Seasonality:

•  Adults: winter - fall

•  Immatures: winter - fall

•  Hosts:

•  Adults: deer and other large mammals

•  Immatures: birds and sm. rodents

•  Note: Great interest surrounds the involvement of this tick in the increase in spotted fever rickettsioses over the last few decades

Lone Star Tick Amblyomma americanum •  Where found: Found throughout the

southeastern, central, and eastern United States.

•  Seasonality:

•  Adults: spring - summer

•  Immatures: spring – fall

•  Hosts:

•  Adults: deer

•  Immatures: birds, sm. and med. mammals, deer

•  Note:

•  The most abundant human-biting tick in the southeast

•  Multiple concurrent tick bites from this species are common

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Brown Dog Tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus •  Where found: The most widely

distributed of all ticks in the world; found throughout North America.

•  Seasonality:

•  Adults: spring - fall

•  Immatures: spring - fall

•  Hosts:

•  Adults: dogs

•  Immatures: dogs, other mammals

•  Note:

•  Primarily an INDOOR pest.

•  Acaricide resistance can be a problem.

Surveillance �  Flagging/Dragging

�  Fabric affixed to dowel and run along vegetation

�  # of ticks/area sampled (e.g. 3 ticks/meter)

�  Traps �  Usually CO2 (e.g. dry ice)

attractant �  Doesn’t work for all species

NightWatch™ Verifi™

ClimbUp®

Bed Bug Beacon™ J. Med. Entomol. 52(2): 260–268 (2015); DOI: 10.1093/jme/tju020

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Captured Attracted Activated

Tic

ks (

%)

Bed Bug Beacon™

Verifi™

NightWatch™

ClimbUp®

Trap comparison

c

b

bb

a

b

c

a

a

b

b

c

(F3,26 = 24.41, p <0.0001)

(F3,26 = 10.44, p = 0.0001)

(F3,26 = 12.06, p <0.0001)

J. Med. Entomol. 52(2): 260–268 (2015); DOI: 10.1093/jme/tju020

Control �  Personal Protection

�  Protective clothing and repellents

�  Check entire body for ticks

�  Promptly remove attached ticks

�  Biological Control �  Relatively few natural enemies

�  Probably have little impact on ticks

�  Pathogenic fungi may be promising

Control •  Landscape Measures: ‘Tick Safe

Zones’ �  Will not directly eliminate many ticks

�  May be expensive

�  May not reduce disease incidence

�  Chemical Control �  Host-targeted and Area-wide treatments

�  The most effective way to reduce ticks

�  Easy to apply and relatively inexpensive

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Resistance

J. Med. Entomol. 1–8 (2015); DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjv005

Permethrin Fipronil

Summary �  Ticks are important pests that threaten public

health.

�  Tick biology and ecology varies by species.

�  Targeted IPM strategies reduce the risk posed by ticks and their pathogens.

Questions?�  Local Cooperative Extension office

�  UF Pest Management University: https://pmu.ifas.ufl.edu/news-info/2012/brown-dog-ticks

�  CDC: www.cdc.gov/ticks/

�  Univ. of Rhode Island: www.tickencounter.org

�  The Tick App: http://tickapp.tamu.edu

�  Connecticut Tick Management Handbook: http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/bulletins/b1010.pdf

Helpful Tick Resources