Small mammals

Small mammals are the most important hosts for tick larvae and serve as reservoir hosts for numerous tick-borne pathogens. Therefore, without information on mammals, it is not possible to explain changes in the abundance and distribution of ticks and tick-borne diseases in humans. We trap small mammals with live traps once a month in four different forest habitats in the catchment area of the Rhine River near Karlsruhe, examine them for tick infestation, mark and release them ("capture-mark-release-recapture"). This method allows us to determine the influence of the small mammal population density within a given habitat on the tick population and to detect and interpret possible seasonal variation. Additionally, we collect ticks from the vegetation by flagging. The flagging data are compared with the results of the small mammal studies.

Bank vole (Myodes glareolus) with Dermacentor                    Longworth small mammal trap (Picture: Nina Littwin)
reticulatus Infestation (Picture: NinaLittwin)