Development Of A Biological Tick Trap Based On Attract-And-Kill Strategy

The most frequently reported vector-borne diseases in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere are related to ticks, e.g. borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis. In Europe, Ixodes ricinus (Acari: Ixodidae) is the most abundant species infesting a wide range of hosts. Increased public awareness concerning infectious ticks has raised interest in an effective tick control. The aim of this project is the development of a tick trap based on an attract-and-kill strategy. Therefore, we screen long and short range attractants as well as aggregation pheromones. For the first time we demonstrate behavioural assays with I. ricinus nymphs using a novel y-olfactometer for screening compounds of, inter alia, the classes of aldehydes, lactones, and terpenoids. We demonstrate a significantly attractive effect of CO2 on I. ricinus. Further we screen aggregation pheromones using a refined static assay. Up to date we detected aggregation pheromones of the classes of purines and their derivatives. These substances combined (attractant component) will be released through a capsule-based biopolymer system, which is coupled with a kill component, a naturally occurring entomopathogenic fungus. The fungus Metarhizium spp. is able to infect the ticks as they come into contact with the capsules. The intention of the trap is to provide protection against I. ricinus in areas frequently used by humans. Future research should investigate whether similar results are obtained when adult Ixodes ticks or other tick species are tested.