Ticks and tickborne diseases are increasingly problematic. There have been positive developments that should result in improved strategies and better tools to suppress ticks, reduce human tick bites, and roll back tickborne diseases. However, we equally need to address the question of who is responsible for implementing the solutions. The current model of individual responsibility for tick control evolved from a scenario in the 1990s focusing strongly on exposure to blacklegged ticks and Lyme disease spirochetes in peridomestic settings of the northeastern United States. Today, the threat posed by human-biting ticks is more widespread across the eastern United States, increasingly complex (multiple tick species and >10 notable tickborne pathogens), and, across tick species, more spatially diffuse (including backyards, neighborhood green spaces, and public recreation areas). To mitigate tick-associated negative societal effects, we must consider shifting the responsibility for tick control to include both individual persons and professionally staffed tick-management programs.

壁虱和壁虱传播的疾病日益严重。已经出现了积极的发展，应该会导致改善策略和更好的工具来抑制虱子，减少人类的虱子叮咬和减少虱子传播的疾病。但是，我们同样需要解决由谁负责实施解决方案的问题。当前对tick虫控制的个人责任模型是从1990年代的一个情景演变而来的，该情景的重点是在美国东北部的腹围环境中暴露于黑脚tick和莱姆病螺旋体。如今，由人类咬住的壁虱构成的威胁在美国东部更加普遍，越来越复杂（多种壁虱物种和超过10种显着的壁虱传播病原体），并且在壁虱物种之间，空间分布更广（包括后院，附近的绿地，和公共休闲区）。为了减轻与tick相关的负面社会影响，我们必须考虑将tick控制的责任转移到包括个人和由专业人员组成的tick管理计划中。