Ticks on the turf: investigating the presence of ixodid ticks on and around football fields in Germany

Ixodes ricinus is the most abundant tick species and an important vector of pathogens in Germany and in large parts of Europe. A few other ixodid tick species, e.g., Dermacentor reticulatus, may also be of eco-epidemiological relevance. As ticks are not only found in natural but also in suburban areas (parks, gardens), the present study investigated whether ticks occur on and near football grounds thus posing a potential risk to players and visitors. Thirty-two football grounds from all 16 German federal states were selected, mainly situated adjacent to a green area (forest, park). Ticks were collected by the conventional flagging method in spring 2018, and nymphs and adults were counted and morphologically determined. Altogether 807 nymphal and adult ticks were collected from 29 football grounds: 714 I. ricinus, 64 Ixodes inopinatus, 2 Ixodes frontalis, 24 Ixodes sp. ticks, and 3 D. reticulatus. Ixodes inopinatus was found in 13 out of 16 German states. Three ticks were even found on the turf of two football fields. It can be concluded that ticks occur quite frequently and sometimes in high abundance near football grounds situated close or adjacent to a forest or a park.

Atlas of ticks (Acari: Argasidae, Ixodidae) in Germany

An updated and increased compilation of georeferenced tick locations in Germany is presented here. This data collection extends the dataset published some years ago by another 1448 new tick locations, 900 locations of which were digitized from literature and 548 locations are published here for the first time. This means that a total of 3492 georeferenced tick locations is now available for Germany. The tick fauna of Germany includes two species of Argasidae in the genera Argas and Carios and 19 species of Ixodidae in the genera Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, and Ixodes, altogether 21 tick species. In addition, three species of Ixodidae in the genera Hyalomma (each spring imported by migratory birds) and Rhipicephalus (occasionally imported by dogs returning from abroad with their owners) are included in the tick atlas. Of these, the georeferenced locations of 23 tick species are depicted in maps. The occurrence of the one remaining tick species, the recently described Ixodes inopinatus, is given at the level of the federal states. The most common and widespread tick species is Ixodes ricinus, with records in all 16 federal states. With the exception of Hamburg, Dermacentor reticulatus was also found in all federal states. The occurrence of the ixodid ticks Ixodes canisuga, Ixodes frontalis, Ixodes hexagonus and I. inopinatus were documented in at least 11 federal states each. The two mentioned argasid tick species were also documented in numerous federal states, the pigeon tick Argas reflexus in 11 and the bat tick Carios vespertilionis in seven federal states. The atlas of ticks in Germany and the underlying digital dataset in the supplement can be used to improve global tick maps or to study the effects of climate change and habitat alteration on the distribution of tick species.