Non-Chemical Control of Nymphal Longhorned Tick, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Diatomaceous Earth

The longhorned tick (LHT), <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann (Acari: Ixodidae), is a serious invasive pest in North America where its geographical range is expanding with high densities associated with commercial animal production. There are only a few chemical pesticides availabl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Reuben A. Garshong, David Hidalgo, Loganathan Ponnusamy, David W. Watson, R. Michael Roe
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Insects
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/11/844
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1846153357651083264
author Reuben A. Garshong
David Hidalgo
Loganathan Ponnusamy
David W. Watson
R. Michael Roe
author_facet Reuben A. Garshong
David Hidalgo
Loganathan Ponnusamy
David W. Watson
R. Michael Roe
author_sort Reuben A. Garshong
collection DOAJ
description The longhorned tick (LHT), <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann (Acari: Ixodidae), is a serious invasive pest in North America where its geographical range is expanding with high densities associated with commercial animal production. There are only a few chemical pesticides available for LHT control, which can lead to the evolution of resistant strains. Diatomaceous earth (DE) was shown to be effective in killing some important tick species but was not examined for LHTs. When LHT nymphs were dipped for about 2–4 s into DE, transferred to Petri dishes (one tick/dish), and incubated at 30 °C and 70% relative humidity, the median survival time was 4.5 h. A locomotor activity assay showed that there was no difference in the overall distance traveled between the DE-treated and control ticks except during the first 2 h after exposure. In a field-simulated study in which a dose of 5.0 g DE/m<sup>2</sup> was applied to pine needle litter infested with LHT, all the LHTs were dead at 24 h with no control mortality. Scanning electron micrographs showed the mineral adhering to all surfaces of the tick. The results indicated that DE is effective in killing nymphal LHTs and could be an alternative to the use of chemical acaricides with the advantage of managing pesticide resistance through the killing by a different mode of action and could be used for organically certified animal husbandry.
format Article
id doaj-art-475de19a92454aaba93357b51ba205e7
institution Kabale University
issn 2075-4450
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Insects
spelling doaj-art-475de19a92454aaba93357b51ba205e72024-11-26T18:07:03ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502024-10-01151184410.3390/insects15110844Non-Chemical Control of Nymphal Longhorned Tick, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Diatomaceous EarthReuben A. Garshong0David Hidalgo1Loganathan Ponnusamy2David W. Watson3R. Michael Roe4Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USADepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USADepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USADepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USADepartment of Entomology and Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USAThe longhorned tick (LHT), <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann (Acari: Ixodidae), is a serious invasive pest in North America where its geographical range is expanding with high densities associated with commercial animal production. There are only a few chemical pesticides available for LHT control, which can lead to the evolution of resistant strains. Diatomaceous earth (DE) was shown to be effective in killing some important tick species but was not examined for LHTs. When LHT nymphs were dipped for about 2–4 s into DE, transferred to Petri dishes (one tick/dish), and incubated at 30 °C and 70% relative humidity, the median survival time was 4.5 h. A locomotor activity assay showed that there was no difference in the overall distance traveled between the DE-treated and control ticks except during the first 2 h after exposure. In a field-simulated study in which a dose of 5.0 g DE/m<sup>2</sup> was applied to pine needle litter infested with LHT, all the LHTs were dead at 24 h with no control mortality. Scanning electron micrographs showed the mineral adhering to all surfaces of the tick. The results indicated that DE is effective in killing nymphal LHTs and could be an alternative to the use of chemical acaricides with the advantage of managing pesticide resistance through the killing by a different mode of action and could be used for organically certified animal husbandry.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/11/844diatomaceous earth<i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i>industrial mineralslonghorned ticksnon-chemicaltick control
spellingShingle Reuben A. Garshong
David Hidalgo
Loganathan Ponnusamy
David W. Watson
R. Michael Roe
Non-Chemical Control of Nymphal Longhorned Tick, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Diatomaceous Earth
Insects
diatomaceous earth
<i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i>
industrial minerals
longhorned ticks
non-chemical
tick control
title Non-Chemical Control of Nymphal Longhorned Tick, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Diatomaceous Earth
title_full Non-Chemical Control of Nymphal Longhorned Tick, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Diatomaceous Earth
title_fullStr Non-Chemical Control of Nymphal Longhorned Tick, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Diatomaceous Earth
title_full_unstemmed Non-Chemical Control of Nymphal Longhorned Tick, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Diatomaceous Earth
title_short Non-Chemical Control of Nymphal Longhorned Tick, <i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i> Neumann 1901 (Acari: Ixodidae), Using Diatomaceous Earth
title_sort non chemical control of nymphal longhorned tick i haemaphysalis longicornis i neumann 1901 acari ixodidae using diatomaceous earth
topic diatomaceous earth
<i>Haemaphysalis longicornis</i>
industrial minerals
longhorned ticks
non-chemical
tick control
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/15/11/844
work_keys_str_mv AT reubenagarshong nonchemicalcontrolofnymphallonghornedtickihaemaphysalislongicornisineumann1901acariixodidaeusingdiatomaceousearth
AT davidhidalgo nonchemicalcontrolofnymphallonghornedtickihaemaphysalislongicornisineumann1901acariixodidaeusingdiatomaceousearth
AT loganathanponnusamy nonchemicalcontrolofnymphallonghornedtickihaemaphysalislongicornisineumann1901acariixodidaeusingdiatomaceousearth
AT davidwwatson nonchemicalcontrolofnymphallonghornedtickihaemaphysalislongicornisineumann1901acariixodidaeusingdiatomaceousearth
AT rmichaelroe nonchemicalcontrolofnymphallonghornedtickihaemaphysalislongicornisineumann1901acariixodidaeusingdiatomaceousearth