Who feeds on forest ticks? - briefly
Birds (e.g., chickadees, nuthatches), small mammals (mice, shrews), reptiles (lizards), amphibians (frogs), and predatory insects (ants, beetles) all consume forest ticks.
Who feeds on forest ticks? - in detail
Various forest-dwelling organisms consume ticks at different life stages. Birds such as chickadees, nuthatches, and warblers capture larvae and nymphs while foraging on the forest floor or in low vegetation. Small mammals, including white-footed mice, shrews, and opossums, ingest attached ticks during grooming or by directly picking them off hosts. Reptiles—mainly ground-dwelling lizards and some snake species—actively hunt unattached tick stages, especially nymphs. Amphibians like wood frogs and salamanders eat ticks that fall into moist microhabitats. Predatory arthropods play a significant role: spiders, especially ground spiders, seize mobile ticks; predatory mites (e.g., Ixodiphagus spp.) parasitize and kill tick eggs and larvae; beetles such as rove and ground beetles chew soft-bodied stages; and ants remove ticks from leaf litter during foraging. Parasitic wasps, notably those in the family Encyrtidae, lay eggs inside tick eggs, leading to larval mortality. Each predator targets specific tick stages, contributing to overall tick population regulation in forest ecosystems.