Squirreling away the ticks? Tick abundance and distribution on eastern grey squirrels in Mid-Atlantic recreational areas

Mice in the genus Peromyscus are considered an important reservoir for the pathogen that causes Lyme disease. However, evidence suggests that while these rodents are some of the most common in the United States only about 10% of ticks feed on mice. Regardless, 80% of the non-deer tick-host association studies focus on Peromyscus mice in the Northeastern United States. Eastern grey squirrels are common around residential areas. Previous studies have demonstrated they have low reservoir competence for Borrelia burgdorferi but carry high tick burdens which could contribute significantly to local tick populations. In this study, we evaluated the tick burdens of Eastern grey squirrels in common recreation areas (parks, golf courses) in Pennsylvania to determine the overall tick burden as well as tick distribution on individual squirrels. We collected ticks as well as squirrel tissue and serum samples to assess current infection or antibodies to common tick-borne pathogens. Our tick burden results differed from previous literature suggesting more research should be conducted to better understand the factors contributing to the distribution of ticks on wildlife hosts.