Infestation of mice and voles with Ixodes ricinus ticks in Lithuania and Norway

Abstract

A total of 693 small rodents were live-trapped in Lithuania and Norway. In Lithuania, the mice Apodemus flavicollis and A. agrarius were more frequently infested with ticks than the voles Microtus arvalis and Myodes glareolus. The overall prevalence of infestation with Ixodes ricinus in different sampling locations of Lithuania ranged for A. flavicollis from 0% to 92.3%, for M. glareolus from 5.9% to 100%, and for M. arvalis from 0% to 37.8%. In Norwegian sites the prevalence of infestation was higher for A. flavicollis (62.7 98% in different sites) than for A. sylvaticus (42.9 77.8%). The most intensive infestation of rodents with I. ricinus larvae was observed in May and June. Contrasting patterns of infestation with larvae and nymphs were observed in males and females of M. glareolus and A. flavicollis.