Host-Targeted Control: Topical Application

Ticks depend on small mammal hosts, particularly rodents, during important stages of their life cycle. This project evaluates the use of fluralaner, a systemic acaricide administered topically to rodent hosts, as a host-targeted approach for reducing tick populations in residential and natural landscapes in western Pennsylvania and Ohio.

By treating rodents that serve as key hosts for immature ticks, this strategy aims to reduce tick survival and interrupt the transmission cycle of tick-borne pathogens — including Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease — while minimizing impacts on non-target organisms and the environment.

The evaluation will be conducted through a large-scale field study across sites in Ohio and western Pennsylvania, assessing fluralaner's effectiveness in reducing the prevalence of Ixodes scapularis nymphs and pathogen infection rates in questing ticks.