Best Practices for Tick control

 

Deer Reduction and Management

Reduction of deer is often considered as a prevention measure to reduce the risk for disease carried by the deer tick. There is active research in this area particularly in the Northeast United States.

A 2015 review of the published literature reviewed the evidence that deer control as a single intervention would reduce human Lyme disease risk.  In summary, limited reduction of deer populations is unlikely to decrease the risk for Lyme disease in people.

“Will Culling White-Tailed Deer Prevent Lyme Disease?” 

Impact summary: Deer population reduction is often cited as a possible Lyme disease prevention measure but the effectiveness of this method in reducing human disease risk is not well understood.

• Complete elimination of deer from isolated settings, such as islands, can have a substantial effect on tick reproduction, but deer reduction short of elimination has yielded mixed results, and evidence of an effect on human disease risk is limited.

• At present, the evidence is weak regarding deer control as a standalone intervention to reduce human Lyme disease risk.

Bait boxes – tick tubes 

A study in Connecticut that showed that the modified commercial rodent bait boxes with small doses of fipronil (a tick-a-cide used for dogs and cats, also called acaricides) significantly reduced the infection rate of mice by the Lyme disease spirochete and reduced the burden of questing infected adult ticks.   (Attached J. Med.Entomology by Dolan et al.)

Control of Immature Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) on Rodent Reservoirs of Borrelia burgdorferi in a Residential Community of Southeastern Connecticut

ABSTRACT 

A 3-yr community-based study was conducted on residential properties on Mason’s Island, Mystic, CT, to determine the efficacy of a rodent-targeted acaricide (fipronil) to control immature Ixodes scapularis (Say) on Peromyscus leucopus. Results indicated that modified commercial bait boxes were effective as an acaricide delivery method for reducing nymphal and larval tick infestations on white-footed mice by 68 and 84%, respectively. Passive application of fipronil significantly reduced the infection rate of Borrelia burgdorferi among white-footed mice by 53%. Moreover, the abundance of questing I. scapularis adults on treated properties was reduced by 77% and fewer were infected with spirochetes (31%) compared with untreated sites (47%) after 3 yr of treatment. Likewise, the abundance of host-seeking nymphs was significantly reduced on treated properties by_50%. Finally, infection rates in flagged nymphal ticks for both B. burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum were reduced by 67 and 64%, respectively, after only 2 yr of treatment. Results from this 3-yr trial indicate that the use of fipronil passively applied to reservoir animals by bait boxes is an environmentally acceptable means to control ticks, interrupt the natural disease transmission cycle, and reduce the risk of Lyme disease for residents of treated properties.

Tick tubes are available for sale:“Typical coverage provided by tick tubes — 1/2 acre,  24 tubes, ~$80;  or 2 acres, 96 tubes, ~$275.”

Do it yourself tick tubes

http://organicdailypost.com/make-tick-tubes/

Cardboard tubes like toilet paper or paper towel tubes (cut into 2-3 sections)  are stuffed with cotton balls sprayed with Permethrin.  The Permethrin concentration for tick tubes is 7.4% diluted with water and sprayed onto the cotton balls. Permethrin can also be purchased on Amazon.   24-30 tubes can be used to treat ½ acre of land.

 

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