Effect of flooring type on survival of Amblyomma maculatum and Amblyomma americanum

Increased exposure to ticks puts humans and their companion animals at risk for tick bites and potential pathogen transmission. Humans can be exposed to ticks by encountering them outdoors, but also in the home given the propensity of ticks to hitchhike on clothes and pets. We assessed survival of two tick species widely distributed across the southeastern United States, Amblomma maculatum Koch and A. americanum Linnaeus, on different types of flooring commonly found in residential homes. We assessed survival by placing ticks individually onto one of five different types of flooring (marble, wood, vinyl, long-length carpet, and short-length carpet; (n = 180 total, 18 ticks per species per flooring type). Ticks were contained in plastic cups fixed in place on each floor type to reduce movement and/or escape and promote tick contact with the flooring. Survival was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves and a Cox proportional hazards model. Our findings have implications for determining tick survival and longevity, particularly following entry into the home, and how flooring type can mediate in-home tick exposure.