The study results show that parasitic arachnids can survive long enough on different types of flooring.
Scientists have found evidence that some blood-sucking ticks can potentially establish themselves in homes for quite a long time. Researchers from Ohio State University studied how long two species of disease-carrying ticks can survive on various types of flooring. Although survival duration varied depending on the flooring, ticks can live on such surfaces for up to a month, writes Focus.
The scientists aimed to determine whether blood-sucking ticks, accidentally brought indoors on clothing or other items, could survive in a house long enough to bite and possibly infect a person.
For the experiment, the researchers used two species of the Amblyomma genus: A. maculatum and A. americanum. These ticks are known for spreading various diseases among humans.
The scientists observed the behavior of the ticks on five types of flooring: tile, wood, vinyl, short-pile carpet, and long-pile carpet. The authors of the study examined 90 ticks of each species over three phases of the experiment, with 18 ticks of each species on each type of flooring.
It turned out that both species of ticks lived for a long time on all types of flooring, averaging from 10 to 15 days. The shortest average lifespan was 7 days on tile, while the longest was 25 days on vinyl.
However, ticks live on such flooring for much less time than they typically do in the wild, where they can live for about 2 years. This is likely due to the dryness of the surfaces. The scientists noted that it is not entirely clear how likely it is that a tick brought indoors will bite a person. But the results provide a rough idea of the potential risk.
The researchers advise that after visiting areas where ticks are prevalent, it is essential to thoroughly check oneself, one’s clothing, and pets for ticks. According to the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), any ticks found should be removed immediately.
