Comparison of different surveillance methods for modeling dispersal of ticks

Ticks are important vectors for several pathogens and active surveillance through tick collection is an effective way to assess risk to tick-borne disease. In this study we compared the efficiencies of three tick collection methods: tick drags, CO2-baited drags, and on-host extractions. On-host tick extractions detected seven tick species compared to four species with traditional tick drags and four species with CO2-baited drags. For the two tick species collected using all methods, on-host extractions collected more Ixodes scapularis overall whereas CO2-baited tick drags collected more Amblyomma americanum. On-host tick extractions involved greater time and monetary investment for effective deployment, but focusing on specific wildlife groups makes this technique much more efficient. Pathogen prevalence in environmentally-collected ticks was similar to previous research. Comparing these active tick surveillance methods provides important information for researchers to inform the employment effective collection methods given their interests and resource limitations.