Lyme and Mice

April 30, 2021

Have you protected your mice from ticks yet? You may think you did not read that correctly but, yes there is a new product on the market designed to rid your local field mice of ticks without harming the furry creatures. Why would you want to do that?

Lyme disease is transmitted by the deer tick also known as the black-legged tick. Unfortunately, the name deer tick gives us the impression it hops from a deer to us. The reality is that deer are end hosts. Theoretically, if there were no deer then there would be more ticks attacking humans. The real spreaders of Lyme are the small mammals like the white-footed mouse, voles, and chipmunks. In the spring, eggs hatch out and the larva attach to these animals for the rest of the summer. The next spring is when they molt and turn into nymphs that start feeding on small mammals like dogs, mice, squirrels, and humans. They then molt again and the adult ticks go looking for deer. Adult black-legged ticks are rarely found on humans, but they do feed on dogs and cats.

Because the white-footed mouse is the preferred host, a company has developed a box that mice enter, and while in there they rub against a pad that contains the insecticide fipronil. This same chemical is used for flea and tick control on pets. The company says this new control method when used by trained applicators will control up to 97% of the ticks by the second year. This chemical is very effective as a single dose protects mice for up to 40 days.

I do not know the cost and I see only one company in Indiana that currently sells the product.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that approximately 476,000 people may get Lyme disease each year in the United States.

If using insecticides is not your thing then how about some of the other research going on where mice are genetically modified to be resistant to the disease. Before the COVID slowdown, a research collaboration between the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab started a project called, Mice Against Ticks. They proposed an experiment to release modified white-footed mice immune to Lyme disease on the islands of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, areas with some of the highest per capita rates of confirmed and probable Lyme disease cases in the USA. If successful, this would be a long-term solution to the disease unlike repeatedly treating mice with insecticides.

In the meantime, Purdue's recommendation is to prevent outdoor tick exposure by avoid tick-infested areas and wear protective clothing. Stay on established trails, and avoid brushing against vegetation. Wear light-colored clothing, long pants, and long-sleeved shirts so that ticks can be more easily seen. Tuck in your shirt, and pull your socks over the pant cuffs. Apply insect repellent to your shoes, socks, and pants. Effective tick repellents are those containing DEET or permethrin. Occasionally check yourself and your children for ticks, especially on the head, groin, and underarm area. Showering after coming indoors may help remove ticks that have not yet been attached to the skin.

Remember to protect your pets also. Lyme disease is worse in dogs in the Northeast US (13%) and lowest in the West (1.4%). Our area falls in between those numbers.

Mark Kepler, Extension Educator- Agriculture and Natural Resources

Purdue Cooperative Extension Service-Fulton County 1009 West Third Street, Rochester IN 46975

574 223 3397 http://www.ag.purdue.edu/counties/fulton/pages/default.aspx https://www.facebook.com/Purdue.Extension.Fulton