Geographic position of mount Slavnik (inset) with denoted 11 sampling sites of Ixodes ricinus along north – (N) and south – (S) facing slopes above villages Skadanščina and Podgorje, respectively, located at each 100 m of elevation (numbers denote elevation in m a.s.l.) in (patches of) a mixed forest. At the highest sampling site, only a small Pinus nigra stand on the south-facing slope below the peak (S1020) resembles forest habitat.