Current work; PDPs & the Poultry Red Mite, Dermanyssus gallinae

1. Use of plant-derived products to control arthropods of veterinary importance; a mini-review David R. George1, Jonathan H. Guy1, Sam Arkle1, David Harrington1, Carlos De Luna1, Ed Okello1, Robert S. Shiel1, Gordon Port2, Olivier A. E. Sparagano1 1 School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development; 2 School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK. (Olivier.sparagano@ncl.ac.uk) Use of synthetic pesticides is hampered by issues of pest resistance & product withdrawals Many plants contain chemicals toxic to pests, such as azadirachtin from the neem tree These plant-derived products (PDPs) may be of use in veterinary pest management This has led to alternative means of controlling pests being sought Products rich in such chemicals can be obtained from these plants & used as ‘natural’ pesticides Ear mite, Otodectes cynotis The tick Ixodes ricinus Varroa mite, Varroa jacobsoni, on the back of a bee PDPs & pests of domestic animals ● Work has shown that an aqueous extract derived from camomile flowers (10%) resulted in 100% mortality of Psoroptes cuniculi, a mite responsible for causing otoacariasis in domestic animals 1. ● A phytoaromatic-gel (Canidor) based on PDPs was effective in controlling Otodectes cynotis (ear mites) in rabbits, dogs & cats 2. ● Another product based on PDPs (Charmil gel) was effective against Sarcoptes scabiei var canis (mange) mites on dogs 3. ● Limonene, a monoterpene found in many citrus species, is often used to control ectoparasites of domestic animals 4. PDPs & pests of apiculture ● Thymol, the main constituent of thyme, & thymol blends have been recommended for the control of several bee mite species including Varroa jacobsoni5, Varroa destructor & Acarapis woodi6. ● Several products based on thymol are already available for use in hives 7. PDPs & pests of livestock ● The pig mange mite (Sarcoptes scabiei var. suis) has been controlled using volatile oil preparations of citronella, reducing mite infestation to less than 5% of pre-treatment levels 8. ● The livestock brown ear tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, has been found to be repelled by the essential oil of Gynandropsis gynandra (an African shrub) 9. ● Diluted rhododendron oil exhibited more than 95% repellency against Ixodes ricinus, a tick of both medical and veterinary importance 10. ● For ixodid ticks of small ruminants in India, close to 70% tick mortality was achieved using a methanolic extract of neem tree bark 11. Thyme & thymol (insert) Current work; PDPs & the Poultry Red Mite, Dermanyssus gallinae A project called ‘MITEeHEN’, currently being undertaken at Newcastle University (UK), is considering the use of PDPs as acaricides &/or repellents for management of the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, a major pest of laying hens worldwide. Funded by the UK’s ‘Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’, results from this work suggest that several plant essential oils may be of use as acaricides, where 10 out of the 50 essential oils initially tested gave 100% mite mortality at 0.14mg/cm³. Poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae References: 1. Macchioni et al., 2004. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 18: 205-207. 2. Mignon & Losson, 1996. Veterinary Record 138: 329-332. 3. Das, 1996. Veterinary Parasitology 63: 303-306. 4. Ibrahim et al., 2001. Agriculture and Food Science in Finland 10: 243-259. 5. Calderone & Spivak, 1995. Journal of Economic Entomology 88: 1211-1215. 6. Rice et al., 2002. Journal of Economic Entomology 95: 221-226. 7. Floris et al., 2004. Journal of Economic Entomology 97: 187-191. 8. Mägi et al., 2006. Acta Veterinaria Brunensis 75: 283-287. 9. Lwande et al., 1999. Phytochemistry 50: 401-405. 10. Jaenson et al., 2005. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 19: 345-352. 11. Pathak et al., 2004. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 74: 616-617. Image sources; Insecticide sprayer = amazon.com; toy mite = profesoraloca.vox.com; superman symbol = comicbookcloset.com; neem insecticide = biconet.com; neem tree = ag.vt.edu; essential oil bottle = thebodyshop.com; ear mite = maxhouse.com; varroa mite = creatures.ifas.ufl.edu; ixodes tick = univ-ubs.fr; thyme = pss.uvm.edu; thymol = 3dchem.com; poultry red mite = georgiasouthern.edu.