Tick Spotting: Using Mannequins to Evaluate Individual Efficacy at Detecting Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae).

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Journal of Medical Entomology, 2025, v. 62, no. 4: Tick Spotting: Using Mannequins to Evaluate Individual Efficacy at Detecting Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae).
• Journal Article:
  Journal of Medical Entomology
• Personal Author:
  Zembsch, Tela ; Jansen, David ; Lee, Xia ; Oberle, Emily ; Philip, Rosemary ; Bartholomay, Lyric ; Paskewitz, Susan
• Description:
  Tick checks are a free and accessible personal protection measure used to prevent tick bites and are frequently recommended by public health institutions and vector-borne disease researchers. However, little is known about how successful people are at detecting ticks on themselves or others when using this method. We developed a tool for evaluating factors affecting the efficacy of tick checks using mannequins. In 2022 and 2023, we recruited 207 participants to complete a brief survey and perform a tick check on a mannequin, where dead Ixodes scapularis Say larvae, nymphs, and adults had been glued at various locations. None of the survey results (demographics, knowledge, attitude, and concerns about ticks and tick-borne disease) were associated with likelihood of tick detection. On average, participants detected 42% of nymphs on the mannequin. Adult females were 3 to 4 times more likely to be detected than nymphs. Ticks above the waistline were detected 3 times more frequently than ticks below. Ticks that were on white-colored clothing were 3 times more likely to be detected than those on dark-colored clothing. Ticks that were not covered by hair or clothing were 2 times more likely to be detected than covered ticks. These findings show that there are multiple factors that may limit tick detection during a tick check. Outreach should emphasize the importance of awareness of size variation between stages, completing a thorough whole-body examination including the lower limbs and covered locations, and wearing light-colored clothing.
• Content Notes:
  Author manuscript
• Subjects:
  • Animals
  • Ixodes
  • Manikins
  • Female
  • Nymph
  • Male
  • Tick Control
  • Humans
  • Adult
  • Middle Aged
  More +
• Keywords:
  • survey
  • blacklegged tick
  • prevention
• Source:
  Journal of Medical Entomology, 2025, v. 62, no. 4
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaf053
• ISSN:
  0022-2585 ; 1938-2928
• Pubmed ID:
  40384496
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC12754835
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  U01 CK000651/CK/NCEZID CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U01CK000651/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/ ; 1U01CK000651/Centers of Disease Control and Prevention/
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Pages in Document:
  961-969 (19 pdf pages)
• Volume:
  62
• Issue:
  4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/262120/cdc_262120_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.57 MB]
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:10775de4feb062129615ead05ce761f73b28eebd11dec890e11d192d71f80779375af1ef86d8383e4cf65f65a262aac45e4a92ea5e5d4a87c5d26f388c683f0a