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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Insect Behavior and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #305489
Title: Evaluation of four bed bug traps for surveillances of brown dog ticks (Acari: Ixodidae)

Author
item CARNOHAN, L - University Of Florida
item KAUFMAN, P - University Of Florida
item Allan, Sandra - Sandy
item GEZAN, S - University Of Florida
item WEEKS, E - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Journal of Medical Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/12/2014
Publication Date: 3/9/2015
Citation: Carnohan, L.P., Kaufman, P.E., Allan, S.A., Gezan, S.A., Weeks, E.N. 2015. Evaluation of four bed bug traps for surveillances of brown dog ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). Journal of Medical Entomology. 52(2):260-268.

Interpretive Summary: Brown dog ticks are serious residential pests affecting both dog health and human health through pesticide exposure. Control is particularly challenging due to difficulty in treating all locations where ticks may be present. Additionally, pesticide resistance has been recently reported and is widespread through Florida. Effective surveillance is critical for determining when and where to apply pesticide treatments, however, no traps are currently available to assess tick populations indoors. In this study, conducted at the Center for Medical, Veterinary and Agricultural Entomology in Gainesville FL, scientists evaluated several commercial bed bug traps with and without attractants for their efficacy in attracting and collecting brown dog ticks indoors. Several traps effectively attracted and captured ticks and their use can guide effective pesticide use for tick control.

Technical Abstract: The brown dog tick can be a serious residential pest due to its unique ability, among ticks, to complete its lifecycle indoors. A single engorged and fertilized female tick can oviposit around 4,000 eggs, allowing indoor establishment to be rapid and easy to miss in early-stage infestations. Acaricide treatment is currently the primary method of control, but can be costly and can lead to the development of acaricide resistance in the tick populations. Traps of various designs are commonly used to help monitor and manage populations of indoor pests, such as cockroaches and bed bugs, but there are currently no commercially-available traps for use with brown dog tick infestations. This study included a comparison of four commercially-available bed bug traps (NightWatch™, Bed Bug Beacon™, ClimbUp®, and Verifi™) with regard to their efficacy in capturing brown dog ticks, and also compared tick attraction to ClimbUp® traps baited with several stimuli including CO2. Significantly more ticks were captured and attracted to the NightWatch™ and ClimbUp® traps. The results suggest that bed bug traps may be useful in brown dog tick monitoring, and CO2 will likely be an important component of a trapping system employed in the future.