Deer Ticks Deer Ticks...one bite can change your life... Nantucket Tick-Borne Disease Forum July 28, 2012 Larry Dapsis Deer Tick Project Coordinator - Entomologist

Ticks have NO friends… The Dalai Lama I love everything in the world…except for ticks…

4-Poster Deer Feeding Station Study EPA funded 2009 – 2011 Collaboration w/ UMass - Amherst EPA funded 2009 – 2011 Collaboration w/ UMass - Amherst Project Extended to 2013 to collect additional tick population & infection data Project Extended to 2013 to collect additional tick population & infection data 14 Sample Sites 14 Sample Sites

Tick Sampling – Flag Drag Method

Number of sites found with positive detects in Nymph Stage Deer Ticks. 14 total sample sites. BorreliaBabesiaAnaplasma

Co-infection Nymph Stage Deer Ticks % Co- infection Number of Sites out of

Nymph Stage Tick Infection Punkhorn Conservation % Bor-Bab-Ana Bells Neck Conservation % Bor-Bab-Ana

Nymph Stage Tick Infection Almanack Pond % Bor-Bab-Ana Loring Foundation % Bor-Bab-Ana

Nymph Stage Tick Infection Chappaquiddick Island % Bor-Bab-Ana

Phase 1 Game Plan- Protect Yourself

Tick/Insect Repellent Clothing – Do-it-Yourself Treatment Permethrin products Fabric only…Active thru 6 washings Sold under a variety of brand names. –Permanone, Repel, Sawyer, Bens... Note, Permethrin is an insecticide that repels and kills ticks. Read the Label…

Tick/Insect Repellent Clothing Permethrin bonded to fabric Permethrin bonded to fabric Many brands…one supplier Many brands…one supplier 70 Washings EPA Claim 70 Washings EPA Claim

Highly Effective….60 Seconds contact enough to kill Adult Deer Ticks…Cape Cod Cooperative Extension

Permethrin Facts 2,250 times more toxic to ticks than humans EPA: Reasonable certainty that permethrin- treated clothing poses no harm to infants or children…27 X below LOC Low skin absorption…metabolized quickly Exposure data also studied by National Research Council…Committee on Toxicology Conclusion: Adverse effects unlikely Also used for scabies and head lice control

Phase 2 Game Plan - Protect Your Yard Wildlife and habitat management Wildlife and habitat management Perimeter sprays effective Perimeter sprays effective …NOT the entire yard …NOT the entire yard

EcoExempt IC2 Botanical – –Rosemary Oil 10% – –Peppermint Oil 2% – –Oil of Wintergreen – –Vanillin EcoExempt was as effective as bifenthrin, a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide – –Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory, Maine Medical Center Research Institute

Damminix Tubes

Damminix Tubes…however Several initial university studies looked promising Follow-up studies, NY & CT – –Replicated, multi-year – –No significant effect on tick populations …not all tick-carrying animals take cotton Company website – testimonial driven, questionable trial data

Can Deer exclusion fencing reduce tick populations on a homeowners property??? Fact or Myth?

More Ticks Fewer Ticks Effect of Deer Exclusion Fencing on the Number of Ticks Outside and Inside of the Enclosure

4-Poster Deer Feeding Station. Developed by Mat Pound, USDA, Kerrville, Texas 1996