Medicated corn feeders to disinfest cattle fever ticks, Boophilus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae), from a suburban population of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Cervidae)

Abstract

Following its eradication from the USA, the cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini), a vector of bovine babesiosis, has made episodic incursions into, and sometimes beyond, an established barrier zone separating tick-free from endemic areas. In large part the incursions involve hosting and transport by wild ungulates, particularly deer and antelope. One approach to disinfest ticks from wild hosts is with food baits medicated to stop parasites. The approach has had mixed success due to factors that have been previously identified with supplemental feeding of wildlife especially competition for the bait, social dominance behavior, and the availability of alternative food sources. Given that not all of the target hosts will intake a therapeutic dose of the medication (ivermectin) at all seasons of the year, an open question is whether the approach is efficacious as a stand-alone treatment or even as part of an integrated program. As detailed in the present study an intensive effort was successful in eradicating a local outbreak of fever ticks.