Ticks associated with domestic dogs and cats in Florida, USA

Voluntary collections of ticks from domestic dogs and cats by veterinary practitioners across Florida, USA, were conducted over a 10 month period. Of the 1337 ticks submitted, five species of ixodid ticks were identified and included Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Amblyomma americanum, A. maculatum, Dermacentor variabilis, and Ixodes scapularis . Most ticks were collected from dogs (98.4 %) with the most predominant species being R. sanguineus (94.3 %). Of the ticks collected from cats (1.6 %), A. americanum were the most common (74 %). Only R. sanguineus were collected throughout the state, with the other species collected only in central and north Florida. The tick species collected from dogs and cats represent a risk to these domestic species as well as associated humans for a range of tick-borne diseases in Florida.