TICKS (ACARI, IXODIDAE) IN BULLOCH-COUNTY, GEORGIA

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 collecti on were included: (1) live trapping of potential host animals, (2) che cking wild game, (3) drag sampling, (4) carbon dioxide attraction, (5) checking livestock, road kills, nests, and burrows, (6) samples submi tted from veterinarians, and (7) ticks collected by local residents an d submitted for identification. Twelve tick species (Ixodidae) were id entified. Blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis Say, and American dog ti ck, Dermacentor variabilis (Say), had the widest host ranges and were the most numerous. White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmerma nn), 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.