# Research Strategies to Control Ticks

on White - tailed Deer Host- targeted Control of Field Populations of Blacklegged and Lone Star Ticks to Reduce the Risk of Tick- borne

Disease Transmission J. Mathews Pound, PhD Research Entomologist USDA Agricultural Research Service Knipling - Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory Kerrville, Texas Promoting Community IPM for Preventing Tick - Borne Diseases

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# Importance of White - tailed Deer in the Life Cycle of Blacklegged Ticks

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# Host- Targeted Control of Ticks on Deer

• Objective : Primarily to prevent the successful feeding of adult ticks on white - tailed deer to effectively remove them as a source of blood and interrupt the tick life cycle. In addition, control of larval and nymphal ticks increases overall efficacy.

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# Methods of Preventing Ticks from

Feeding on Deer
• Depopulation or density reduction of deer herds

– Capture (trap or anesthetize) and transport - Expensive, difficult to find acceptable relocation site

– Dispatch and donate - Less expensive, objections from the public

– Immuno-contraception – GonaConTM - Expensive, labor intensive, and very slow efficacy, long term effects on densities not known 

## • Anti -tick vaccines for deer – several labs involved

– None presently available • Delivery by injection or ingestion

– Lessons from anti

- tick vaccines for cattle fever ticks • Only injectable formulations are available thus far – as labor intensive as immuno contraception of deer • Efficacy in cattle of 30 to 85% control – not known for deer • Frequent (6 month) re - inoculations required

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# Methods of Preventing Ticks from

Feeding on Deer
• Potential chemical tick control agents

– Systemically active acaricides – Macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin, doramectin, moxidectin, etc.) • Topical application – Pour - on formulations (Little residual activity) • Injectable application – Injectable formulations (Labor intensive) • Oral application – Medicated baits such as whole kernel corn (Selective feeding required)

– Topically active acaricides • Pyrethroids - Permethrin, cypermethrin, cyhalothrin, etc. (Long residual activity) • Formamidines – Amitraz (Highly efficacious against ticks, long residual activity) • Macrocyclic lactones – Ivermectin, etc. (Little residual activity as topical) • Organophosphates – Coumaphos, etc. (Limited use - being taken off the market) • Phenylpyrazoles – Fipronil, etc. (Highly efficacious, not for use on food animals) • Neonicotinoids – Imidacloprid (Efficacious against fleas, does not kill ticks) • And perhaps others

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# Boophilus spp. Tick Infestations

1906 Beginning of National Campaign 1943 National Eradication Campaign

Complete Promoting Community IPM for Preventing Tick- Borne Diseases

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# Acaricide Delivery Technologies

Developed for White - tailed Deer
• Delivery of systemically active acaricides

– Medicated bait • Ivermectin - medicated whole kernel corn 

## • Delivery of topically active acaricides

– „4 - Poster‟ Deer Treatment Bait Stations • Applying Y - Tex ‘4 - Poster’ Tickicide (10% oily formulation of permethrin)

– „2 - Poster‟ Deer Treatment Feeder Adapters • Also applying Tickicide

– Automatically attached acaricidal deer collars (neckbands) • Applying long - lasting slow - release collars impregnated with 9% amitraz

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# Whole Kernel Corn as a Bait and Dosing

Medium for White - tailed Deer
• When in the presence of abundant natural forage, white - tailed deer will consume only ca. 1 to 1.5% of body weight per day in whole kernel corn, i.e. a 100 pound deer will consume only ca. 1 to 1.5 pounds of corn daily. 

### • Unlike cracked corn or pelleted feeds very clean whole kernels are resistant to uptake of moisture and thus do not mold as rapidly in an outdoor environment. • Whole kernels have minimal surface area as compared with 

### cracked corn or pelleted feeds which makes them easier to coat with liquid formulations. • Corn is only ca. 7 to 9% protein so it does not increase population densities in deer that require a minimum of 10 to 13% dietary 

### protein. Promoting Community IPM for Preventing Tick- Borne Diseases March 31, 2011 Arlington, VA

# Systemic Acaricide Technology: Ivermectin - medicated Whole Kernel Corn

• Ivomec Pour - on mixed with re cleaned whole kernel corn at 2ml per pound of corn • Re - bagged and fed to deer at ca. 1 pound medicated corn per cwt deer per day (ca. 1% body wt per deer per day) • Should result in ca. 30 ppb ivermectin in blood serum • 8 to10 ppb in serum controls 100% of ticks feeding on deer Promoting Community IPM for Preventing Tick- Borne Diseases

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# Medicated - Bait Field Trials

• Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Hunt, TX

– After 3 seasons of treatment achieved 92, 93, and 100% control of free - living adult, nymphal, and larval lone star ticks. • Fairfield Glade, TN

– White - tailed deer within a large housing development were fed ivermectin - medicated corn, and residents were so pleased with reduced tick densities that they elected to fund continued treatment of deer after research terminated. • Apache Ranch, Webb County, TX

– In 1992, an elk herd was selectively fed ivermectin - medicated corn on this 6,500 acre ranch, and a cattle fever tick infestation was successfully eradicated for the first time since 1956. • Catarina Ranch, Webb County, TX

– Beginning in 1996, white - tailed deer on 22,000 acres of the 40,000 acre ranch were treated with over 22 tons of ivermectin - medicated corn, and in 1997 a cattle fever tick infestation lasting over 90 years was eradicated for the first time ever on record.

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# Topical Control of Ticks (10% Permethrin) „4 - Poster‟ Deer Treatment Bait Stations

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# Impact of the „4 - Poster‟ for Control of

Ticks on White - tailed Deer at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area

• Left – A white - tailed deer from the 96 - acre Control Pasture showing a normal lone star tick infestation • Right – A white - tailed deer from the 96 - acre Treatment Pasture showing the efficacy of oily 2% amitraz passively applied using a single ‘4 - Poster’ Deer Treatment Bait Station

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# „4 - Poster‟ Deer Treatment Bait Station

Trials

• Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Hunt, TX

– After 3 seasons of treatment achieved 94, 92, and 88% control of free -living adult, nymphal, and larval lone star ticks using an oily 2% formulation of amitraz. • USDA Northeast Area -wide Tick Control Project – MD, NJ, NY, CT, and RI

– After 5 years of treatment achieved 60 to 82% control (meta -analysis of 71% for the entire project) of blacklegged ticks using an oily 2% formulation of amitraz. • Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD

– After 3 years of treatment, achieved 98% control of free -living nymphal blacklegged ticks. As a result of this high degree of efficacy, Goddard Space Flight Center elected to expand the treatment area and continue treatments.

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# Cylindrical Feed Chute Deer Feeder with ARS „2 - Poster‟ Treatment Adapter

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# The „2 - Poster‟ Deer Treatment Feeder Adapter

For use on new or existing feed 

### chute type deer feeders Promoting Community IPM for Preventing Tick - Borne Diseases

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# Amitraz Collars Applied to White - tailed Deer Effective in Reducing Free - living Populations

of Lone Star Ticks

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# Functions of the Automatic Deer

Collaring Device

• At initial entry of deer into feed area of collaring device

– Senses and individually identifies previously collared deer vs. those without collars by reading RFID tags on collars

– Senses the presence of un -collared “deer - shaped” animals

– Senses body position and automatically applies collars to properly positioned deer

– Automatically sizes collars to individual deer during application

– Automatically reloads the next collar from magazine onto collaring arms

– Records video and still photos of each deer to correlate with RFID tag on attached collar and later identify sex and approximate age of deer.

– Automatically records weight and height at withers of deer being collared • At subsequent visit of previously collared deer

– Programmable to automatically inject specific deer

– Programmable to automatically detach collars from specific deer

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# The 5 th 

# Generation Robotics, Electronics, and

Computer Enabled Automatic Collaring Device for White - tailed Deer

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# Efficacy of Host- Targeted Technologies to Reduce

Free - living Populations of Lone Star Ticks

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# Interference from Non - Target Animals

• The most important non - target animals that interfere with deer treatments are raccoons, feral hogs, bear, 

## and squirrels

– As hosts for immature ticks, raccoons that are treated topically while accessing ‘4 -Posters’ have a positive effect on reducing tick densities. Other non - target animals have negative effects on efficiency and success of the ‘4 -Poster’ and other treatment technologies

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# Hogzilla...

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# A Solid Steel “Bear- Proof” 4 - Poster

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# Bear- Proof ? The first night...

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# Non - target Animal Excluder Fence

• Low (24 inch) 30 -foot diameter circular utility panel and garden hose topped fence with 3 electric fence wires and supported by short T- posts

– Excludes feral hogs and almost all raccoons

– Permits access by fawns, yearlings, and adult deer

– More expensive than non - electrified fence

– Easy to step over to service feeders

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# Hog and Raccoon Excluder Fence

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# Fence charger lasts 4 to 6 months on

4 D - cells

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March 31, 2011 Arlington, VAPromoting Community IPM for Preventing Tick- Borne Diseases March 31, 2011 Arlington, VA

# Relative Toxicity
– LD50 to Rats

(LD50=Dose that is lethal to 50% of the rats. Larger

values are less toxic) • Permethrin (10%) = >5050 mg/kg oral • Roundup (herbicide) =>5000 mg/kg oral • Picaridin (insect repellent) = 4743 mg/kg oral • Sodium bicarbinate (baking soda) = 4220 mg/kg oral • Sodium chloride (table salt) = 3000 mg/kg oral • Deet (28%) (insect repellent) = 2000 mg/kg oral • Ultra Downy (fabric softener) = 2000 mg/kg oral • Imidacloprid (10%) (insecticide) = 1943 mg/kg oral • Amitraz (100%) (insecticide) = 800 mg/kg oral • Fipronil (1%) (insecticide)= 750 mg/kg oral • Tylenol (pain reliever) = 714 mg/kg oral • Ibuprofen (pain reliever)= 636 mg/kg oral • Aspirin (pain reliever)= 200 mg/kg oral • Ivermectin (endecticide) = 50 mg/kg oral
• Note: Permethrin fed to rats at150 mg/kg/day for 6 months = No observable effect