Sunday, March 25, 2012

Natural Tick Control. Is This Possible?

Ticks have become more than just a nuisance due to the increasing prevalence of Lyme disease. Until recently Tick control was only possible with general wide spectrum insecticides such as the Pyrethroid Bifenthrin.
But there is hope. Two Fungi, Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae F52, and  a product made from Alaska yellow cedar, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis called Nootkatone have been shown to be as effective as any pesticide now used to control Ticks.
The articles that follow have much more information. These mention that Nootkatone,
Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae F52 are commercially available. I have not found Nootkatone labeled for Tick control, and its effectiveness seems to be waiting for a formulation that uses lignin (LE-Nootkatone, see article), that I cannot find. The only products that I can find that have Beauveria bassiana are not labeled for tick control and do not have the strains used in the field tests. I can find no products with Metarhizium anisopliae F52.
Still hope for a better way to control Ticks seems close.
If anyone knows of any of these products that are available with a Tick control label please let me know.
If I make it down to field day at the Ct. Agricultural Experiment Station this year, as I hope to do, I will grill Kirby Stafford for more information.

Better reading than I can provide:
Nootkatone LE
Fungal Tick control
Much more about Ticks



1 comment:

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