Sustained control of Gibson Island, Maryland, populations of Ixodes scapularis and Amblyomma americanum (Acari: Ixodidae) by community-administered 4-Poster deer self-treatment bait stations.
In 1998, twenty-five 4-Poster deer treatment bait stations were deployed on Gibson Island (GI), Maryland, as part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Northeast Area-Wide Tick Control Project. Treatments concluded in June 2002, having achieved 80% and 99.5% control of blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, and lone star ticks, Amblyomma americanum, respectively. No area-wide tick control was attempted again on the island until 2003, when 15 Dandux-manufactured 4-Posters were purchased by the GI Corporation and operated until the present. Annual flagging at sites on the island and a similar untreated area on the nearby mainland in May and June from 1998 to 2007 has demonstrated that populations of host-seeking nymphs of both tick species have remained at consistently low levels on the island during GI Corporation administration of the 4-Posters, in spite of 40% fewer 4-Posters and increased deer density during 2003-2007.
Carroll
John F
JF
Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland 20705, USA. john.carroll@ars.usda.gov
Pound
J Mathews
JM
Miller
J Allen
JA
Kramer
Matthew
M
D056810:Acaricides / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000821:Animal Feed; D000818:Animals; D003670:Deer / Q000469:parasitology*; D006801:Humans; D026863:Ixodidae / Q000254:growth & development; D008193:Lyme Disease / Q000517:prevention & control; D008396:Maryland; D011156:Population Density; D013983:Tick Control / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D003313:Zea mays
D056810:Acaricides