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.