Occurrence of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) on a selected segment of the Appalachian Trail

A 918-km section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail from the West Virginia-Maryland border to the Massachusetts-Vermont border was surveyed for the presence of Ixodes scapularis Say. The trail and its edges were drag-sampled during 4 hikes between May and October 1991. Trips were designed to survey areas of the Appalachian Trail when I. scapularis might be questing and to revisit states endemic for Lyme disease during differing times. After sampling for ticks, meteorological and ecological characteristics were measured at each site. In total, 1,776 km of the Appalachian Trail were hiked during 88 d and resulted in sampling 489 sites. All life stages of Ixodes scapularis (n = 46) were collected from 21 sites within a 331-km range of the Appalachian Trail between Salisbury, CT, to Delaware Water Gap, PA. This segment of Appalachian Trial is easily accessible to a large urban population and should be posted with tick warning signs to alert the public to the presence of I. scapularis.