Striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, and other murid rodents as hosts for immature ixodid ticks in the Eastern Cape Province

Abstract

Striped mice, Rhabdomys pumilio, were trapped over a period of 17 months in the Thomas Baines Nature Reserve, and placed in cages, over water, until all the ticks they harboured had detached. The mice were then returned to the reserve. Four ixodid tick species were recovered from the mice of which the larvae and nymphs of Rhipicephalus follis and Rhipicephalus simus were the most numerous. Most larvae of R. follis detached from mice trapped from March to July, and most nymphs in March and from June to September. Most larvae of R. simus detached from mice trapped from December to March, and most nymphs from January to March and during May and June. Seven ixodid tick species were collected from striped mice, house rats, Rattus rattus, vlei rats, Otomys spp. and Praomys sp. captured in the vicinity of human dwellings or animal holding facilities in the Grahamstown district. The striped mice captured in the Thomas Baines Reserve harboured considerably larger numbers of ticks than any of the rodent species in the more urbanized localit