Questing tick sampling
Questing tick were counted and collected by dragging a 1-m² white
blanket over the same area as the rodent trapping grid (see below). The
trapping grid was divided into 16 smaller grids and the blanket was
dragged over three different 10-metre-long transects within these 16
grids. In all, 48 different transects totalling a surface area of 480 m²
were investigated within the 4.0-hectare area. Ticks were collected
during the first week of the month, once a month from April to October
in 2011 and from May to October in 2012, 2013 and 2014, with the
exception of July and August 2011, August 2013 and October 2014 when no
ticks were sampled. At the laboratory, ticks were first identified at
species level based on their morphology using appropriate keys and
descriptions (Pérez‐Eid, 2007). All questing nymphs and adults were
washed in 70% ethanol, rinsed twice in distilled water, dried, and
stored at - 80°C until tested for TBEV.