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Freehold Township Health Department Develops Integrated Tick Management Strategy

Freehold Township, New Jersey, June 1, 2007 - The Freehold Area Health Department announced this week publication of the results of its three-year study of an innovative approach to control ticks involved in the transmission of Lyme disease and several other tick-borne illnesses.  The research investigated the combined use of two technologies designed to kill blacklegged ticks as they attempt to feed on important host animals.  The 4-Poster™ is a passive topical treatment device that applies the insecticide permethrin for the control of adult ticks parasitizing white-tailed deer.  Deer are treated as they rub their head, neck, and ears against permethrin-laden paint rollers while feeding on bait corn.  Maxforce® TMS bait boxes treat small mammals, such as white-footed mice and chipmunks, as they contact a wick impregnated with the insecticide fipronil while attempting to access baits.  Nymphal and larval ticks are controlled for up to six weeks following a single contact with treated wicks. 

Although both these technologies have proven effective when used alone, earlier research reported delays in population control because of the two-year tick life cycle.  This study demonstrated that by sequentially attacking each life stage with these host-targeted approaches, the tick population could be suppressed more rapidly and maintained at lower levels than if the technologies were used alone. 

Deployments of 4-Posters™ each fall and spring, and Maxforce® TMS bait boxes in spring and summer, resulted in 94.3% control of nymphs, after two years.  During the same period, populations of larvae and adults declined 90.6% and 87.3%, respectively. 

Tick-borne diseases continue to pose a significant public health problem in New Jersey.  According to NJDHSS statistics, 2005 marked the first time that the number of Lyme disease cases exceeded 3,000 annually, while the number of cases of human babesiosis and human granulocytic anaplasmosis are escalating at an even more rapid rate.  The blacklegged tick is responsible for transmitting the pathogens that cause all three diseases. 

The results of this study demonstrate that the combined use of the 4-Poster™ and Maxforce® TMS bait box technologies is an effective host-targeted approach to tick control that provides an alternative to the more traditional area-wide chemical applications.