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5 June 2020 Managing plague on prairie dog colonies: insecticides as ectoparasiticides
David A. Eads, Alexis C. Yashin, Lauren E. Noble, Michele C. Vasquez, Miranda H.J. Huang, Travis M. Livieri, Phillip Dobesh, Eddie Childers, Dean E. Biggins
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Abstract

Human health practitioners and wildlife biologists use insecticides to manage plague by suppressing fleas (Siphonaptera), but insecticides can also kill other ectoparasites. We investigated effects of deltamethrin and fipronil on ectoparasites from black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus, BTPDs). In late July, 2018, we treated three sites with 0.05% deltamethrin dust and 5 sites with host-fed 0.005% fipronil grain. Three non-treated sites functioned as experimental baselines. We collected ectoparasites before treatments (June-July, 2018) and after treatments (August-October, 2018, June-July, 2019). Both deltamethrin and fipronil suppressed fleas for at least 12 months. Deltamethrin had no detectable effect on mites (Arachnida). Fipronil suppressed mites for at least 12 months. Lice (Phthiraptera) were scarce on non-treated sites throughout the study, complicating interpretation. Concentrating on eight sites where all three ectoparasites where found in June-July, 2018 (before treatments), flea intensity was greatest on BTPDs carrying many lice and mites. These three ectoparasites co-occurred at high numbers, which might facilitate plague transmission in some cases. Lethal effects of insecticides on ectoparasite communities are potentially advantageous in the context of plague management.

David A. Eads, Alexis C. Yashin, Lauren E. Noble, Michele C. Vasquez, Miranda H.J. Huang, Travis M. Livieri, Phillip Dobesh, Eddie Childers, and Dean E. Biggins "Managing plague on prairie dog colonies: insecticides as ectoparasiticides," Journal of Vector Ecology 45(1), 82-88, (5 June 2020). https://doi.org/10.1111/jvec.12375
Received: 16 January 2020; Accepted: 2 March 2020; Published: 5 June 2020
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KEYWORDS
Cynomys
deltamethrin
fipronil
flea
louse
mite
plague
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