New Methods to kill/repel Ticks and Squeeters.

[dmccarty]

I saw a article last week about a new product that MIGHT be released
to get rid of ticks. Basically what they are testing is a mouse trap that
gets mice to come into the box, where the mouse is treated somehow,
sponge?, with fipronil. This kills ticks.

Here is a qoute from the report about its effectivness.

"A 10-acre test plot where 125 bait boxes were spread the
first year had 80 percent less ticks than an untreated area;
after the second year, there were 96 percent less ticks in
the treated area. The study now includes nearly the whole
island."

The full story can be found at ....
http:// [url]http://www.nandotimes.com/healthscience/story/427050p-3411165c.html [/url]

Cost? Cost is estimated at 300-600 dollars a year and we have to
pay a compnay to put the boxes around the yard..... /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

I'm thinking of building some boxes with sponges and baiting them
to attract the mice. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

I just saw this report in the local paper where NCSU researchers
are developing a repellent based on a chemical found in Tomatos.
Its supposed to be as effective if not more so than DEET with none
of the badness of DEET. No word on when it would be available.

http:// [url]http://www.newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1454850p-1486119c.html [/url]

Hope this helps...
Dan McCarty

 

[Freds]

I live by a peninsula where the deer ticks can carry Lyme disease. For a while the state park people were treating cottonballs with something and tossing them around the bad areas hoping that the mice would use the cottonballs to build their nests and kill the ticks in the process. Don't know why, but they gave up on this idea and now warn visitors that there is a serious tick problem if they get off of the paths.
Geez, now they're testing mosquitos for West Nile virus.

Fred