The Tick Issue as a Reflection of Society–Nature Relations: Localized Perspectives, Health Issues and Personal Responsibility—A Multi-Actor Sociological Survey in a Rural Region (The Argonne Region, France)

Abstract

Ticks are acarids that can transmit diseases, such as Lyme borreliosis, to human beings. They have often been considered from an ecological perspective (the environments in which they live) or from a medical one (diagnosis and treatment), while relational approaches to human–tick encounters that integrate the social sciences have remained less common. This article opts for a socio-territorial approach and a cross-analysis of different groups of actors faced with tick risk in a rural environment during their professional or leisure activities: foresters, farmers, hunters, environmentalists and hikers. The paper is based on observations and about thirty sociological interviews conducted in 2021–2022 in the rural Argonne region (France). The survey reveals the interconnection and tension between three types of approach to tick-related issues, i.e., a localized approach (based on a knowledge of place as well as everyday uses), a health-centered approach (medical knowledge as transformed and shaped by the respondents’ own experiences of tick-borne disease) and an emphasis on taking personal responsibility instead of collective preventive health initiatives or awareness campaigns (as to the location of “tick areas” or of protective measures).