New, Fast DNA Method Spots Pesticide-Resistant Ticks
In its effort to keep cattle fever ticks from escaping quarantine in five counties along the southern Texas border, researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed an overnight DNA test that can detect ticks' genetic indicators of resistance to permethrin, a common pesticide used to manage ticks.
How Ticks Hide in Plain Sight From Predatory Fire Ants
Though tick populations tend to decrease in areas where predatory ants are present, a new study reveals that it's not because the ants prey on the ticks. In fact, predatory ants such as fire ants ignore ticks completely.
Organic Dust Takes a Bite Out of Ticks
Researchers at the USDA-Agricultural Research Service find promising results using clay and silicate dusts to combat lone star ticks. They hope the dusts could be a useful tool against tick species that transmit deadly pathogens to livestock.
New Tick Vaccine Looks Promising for Cattle
The economic impact of cattle ticks was so severe in the late 1800s that the U.S. Department of Agriculture started an eradication program in the early 1900s to eliminate them. […]