Survey of tick control practices on public lands across 4 states reporting high incidence of Lyme disease

Ticks and tick-borne diseases pose a significant public health threat in the United States, particularly in the Northeast and Upper Midwest. Tick control operations are predominately focused on private residential properties. Surveys of publicly funded vector control programs have indicated that high use public lands may be viable targets for future tick control activities if funding is available. However, little is known about the feasibility of implementing tick control activities on these properties. We administered a survey to understand current tick control and tick bite prevention educational practices and potential barriers to future tick control on public lands. The survey was distributed to public land managers in Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin and we received 129 responses. The responses indicated that tick control was undertaken on only 10% of the public lands that respondents managed. Landscape management was the most common intervention. Some (40%) of the public land managers indicated interest in using tick control methods in the future, again with landscape management being the preferred intervention. Respondents indicated that there may be significant barriers for the use of acaricides and host-targeted interventions. Currently, tick bite prevention education appears to be the primary protective measure utilized on public land, with 63% of responding land managers offering education to staff or visitors. Our survey indicates that high use public lands may present potential targets for limited tick control operations, but the potential barriers must be addressed and additional evaluation of these interventions on high use public land is required.