These treated mice then kill the baby and nymph ticks that feed upon them. Biodegradable “tick tubes” are filled with material treated with a tick-killing chemical, permethrin, that mice, the main source of the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, use for their nests. There are some other ways to treat ticks in the yard without spraying. A queen bee’s attendants spread her smell throughout the hive, indicating that all is well and to keep working, for instance. Bees communicate through pheromones, she said. “Cedarwood oil interferes with pheromones, and if it interferes with pheromones, it’s going to have a detrimental impact on honeybees,” said Karen Sabath, master beekeeper with Hudson Valley Natural Beekeepers. Unfortunately, that pheromone-blocking effect can work the same way upon bees. Sophia Raithel / Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Scientists at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies are conducting a study in Dutchess county called the Tick Project to determine whether preventive measures like treating mice with fipronil, the chemical in Frontline, like can lower the transmission rate of Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses. If a lawn spray seems too risky, there could be other means on the market soon that kill ticks in a more targeted way. It also breaks down their nervous system, “so if they don’t die right away… they’ll die soon,” says Skerrett, and lowers the tick population overall by masking the pheromone that the ticks use to attract each other, and destroys the eggs. That same suffocating effect is the way the product kills ticks because they breathe through their bodies and the oil cuts off their air supply. “If you spray with any essential oil, it’s like putting it in a plastic bag,” he said. If the temperature is over 85 degrees, the oil can harm plants, says Skerrett, and their labels specify not to spray when temperature reaches that level. One gallon is enough to treat 16 acres, so only a small amount is needed during each treatment, which typically lasts about 45 to 60 days, although companies usually spray a yard more often than that – either monthly between March and October or, in the case of Far-View, six times during the spring and summer.īut broadcasting anything over your yard comes with consequences. They noted that many compounds derived from “various species of cedar, other coniferous trees, shrubs, and herbs … demonstrated effective killing activity against nymphal ticks,” but overall, they found that “these approaches appear less robust in terms of both their killing efficacy and persistence” than synthetic chemicals.ĬedarCure is exempt from having to be registered with EPA, because it is classified as a minimum-risk pesticide “posing little to no risk to human health or the environment.” In 2016, scientists in the CDC’s Division of Vector-Borne Diseases published a review examining the efficacy of various natural and synthetic tick deterrents. Like many organic or natural tick repellents for lawns, CedarCure’s main ingredient is essential cedarwood oil, which has been shown to kill ticks in scientific studies. “We’ve literally had zero complaints in nine years,” he said. They don’t want ticks, and they don’t want their kids and their dogs around the chemicals.” And it has to do with everyone staying home and this COVID thing. “This spring we’ll probably do 60 to 70 percent more than 2020. “Last spring, we literally grew by 100 percent,” he said. Skerrett, the owner of ICT Organics, which manufactures the organic tick removal product that Devine uses for his business, CedarCure, says sales have been sky high for these last two years as more people are enjoying their backyards during the pandemic. Removing ticks that transmit Lyme disease and other pathogens without the damaging impacts of chemical pesticides is an increasingly alluring prospect, demonstrated by how many people are buying it.
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