ARS | Publication request: Control of Ticks on White-tailed Deer and Other Ungulate Wildlife - Host-targeted Control of Field Populations of Blacklegged and Lone Star Ticks to Reduce the Risk of Tick-borne Disease Transmission

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: January 21, 2011
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: With the continuing progression of blacklegged ticks and the agents causing Lyme disease from infestations in Maryland southward into Virginia, many citizens living in northern Virginia have asked the Governor for ARS-Patented ‘4-Poster’ Deer Treatment Stations to be deployed as an aid in reducing the risk of humans being bitten by these ticks and contracting Lyme disease. Currently a special permit and an extensive amount of legal documentation are required by pesticide and wildlife regulatory agencies in the state before an individual, homeowners association or other group are allowed to install and operate the units. To alleviate these bureaucratic roadblocks, the Governor of Virginia organized and authorized the Virginia Governor’s Task Force on Lyme Disease to begin hearings and accept formal testimony from a variety of expert witnesses from throughout the country. This task force will then report summarized results to the Governor for his approval or disapproval of a simplified licensing or permitting system. This presentation outlined methodology for deployment, maintenance, and expected efficacy of the ARS ‘4-Poster’ technology and was followed by formal expert testimony regarding reductions of free-living tick densities resulting from controlling ticks feeding on white-tailed deer at a variety of locations from Texas through Rhode Island.