Bioassays to evaluate non-contact spatial repellency, contact irritancy, and acute toxicity of permethrin-treated clothing against nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks

Publication date: Available online 1 July 2017 Source:Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases Author(s): Lars Eisen, Dominic Rose, Robert Prose, Nicole E. Breuner, Marc C. Dolan, Karen Thompson, Neeta Connally Summer-weight clothing articles impregnated with permethrin are available as a personal protective measure against human-biting ticks in the United States. However, very few studies have addressed the impact of contact with summer-weight permethrin-treated textiles on tick vigor and behavior. Our aim was to generate new knowledge of how permethrin-treated textiles impact nymphal Ixodes scapularis ticks, the primary vectors in the eastern United States of the causative agents of Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, and human babesiosis. We developed a series of bioassays designed to: (i) clarify whether permethrin-treated textiles impact ticks through non-contact spatial repellency or contact irritancy; (ii) evaluate the ability of ticks to remain in contact with vertically oriented permethrin-treated textiles, mimicking contact with treated clothing on arms or legs; and (iii) determine the impact of timed exposure to permethrin-treated textiles on the ability of ticks to move and orient toward a human finger stimulus, thus demonstrating normal behavior. Our results indicate that permethrin-treated textiles provide minimal non-contact spatial repellency but strong contact irritancy against ticks, manifesting as a “hot-foot” effect and resulting in ticks actively dislodgi...
Source: Ticks and Tick borne Diseases - Category: Zoology Source Type: research