What common surveillance method physically captures I. pacificus by dragging across vegetation?

Dragging cloth sheets across vegetation

Organized public health surveillance programs rely on methodical techniques to map and monitor the presence of *I. pacificus*. One of the most common and direct physical collection methods involves 'flagging' or 'dragging.' This process requires personnel to systematically pull large cloth sheets, often white or flannel, across low-growing vegetation, tall grasses, and leaf litter along transects in the suspected habitat. Ticks questing on the low plants will latch onto the cloth as it passes over them. The surveyor then examines the sheet to physically count and collect the captured ticks, which allows for the creation of accurate distribution maps and the assessment of areas where ticks have been actively found during surveys.