Effective tick control is an important public health measure for combating Lyme disease. It is generally believed that the majority of Lyme disease cases are acquired from ticks living in the peridomestic landscape, thereby placing responsibility for disease prevention mostly at the local level, and especially on individual householders. Despite several studies documenting effective peridomestic tick control measures, human exposures to ticks are increasingly common and cases of Lyme disease have not been reduced. This project aims to bridge the gap between tick control research and human behavior by 1) assessing the effectiveness of an integrated tick management (ITM) strategy applied to either individual or contiguous residential properties, and 2) identifying patterns of human activity within and outside of the peridomestic landscape that lead to encounters with infected ticks. Our ITM approach will integrate the application of well-timed sprays of tick-killing chemicals (to reduce host-seeking ticks) with installation of rodent-targeted bait boxes (to reduce the prevalence of ticks carrying Lyme- causing germs). This approach will be evaluated simultaneously at properties in Lyme-endemic towns located in western Connecticut and southern Rhode Island. Tick abundance will be compared between treated and untreated properties using standard tick collecting methods. Human tick encounters will be recorded and compared using a novel crowd-sourced reporting system (TickSpotters). Study participants will be asked to document the location of their outdoor activity throughout the day in easy-to-use digital journals. Expected outcomes of this project are a reduction in the number of infected blacklegged ticks and human tick encounters at residences receiving an integrated tick management intervention, and an improved understanding of where people encounter ticks both around human habitations and in public outdoor settings.
Lyme disease and other tickborne diseases pose a significant community public health threat, especially in northeastern, mid-Atlantic and mid-western portions of the United State where blacklegged ticks are abundant. While it has long been assumed that most human tick encounters are acquired locally in the vicinity of human habitations, the locations where tick encounters occur both on- and off-premises needs more study. This project will advance knowledge on the impact of environmentally-based tick and pathogen control when it is applied to single or multiple adjacent residential properties.
