Photo above of Deer Using 4-Poster System from Shelter Island Police Department
Shelter Island Deer & Tick Committee settles on new mission statement August 13, 2024 New York, Times Review
... the decision by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) to ban use of 4-poster units — feeding stands that brush deer with a tickicide, permethrin — the Island Committee had to pivot...
The EPA approved a specially formulated 10% permethrin based tickicide for use in treating ticks on deer. As with any pesticide, labels regarding its safety are included with its shipment to the Licensed Pesticide Operator.
For additional information contact: Dandux Outdoors, 3451 Ellicott Center Drive, Ellicott City, Md 21043
Research
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Florent-Dery/publication/385800355_Evaluation_of_acaricide_treatments_to_experimentally_reduce_winter_tick_load_on_moose/links/6735d9e969c07a411446aa33/Evaluation-of-acaricide-treatments-to-experimentally-reduce-winter-tick-load-on-moose.pdf
Development of a low-dose fipronil deer feed: Bait-screening and range-finding to determine the optimal formulation to control blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) feeding on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) August 29, 2023 Journal of Vector Ecology
... Results of formulation screening indicated that loose/granular formulations were substantially more palatable to deer, relative to block formulations, and would be more effective under field conditions. Dose range-finding concluded fipronil feeds with doses of 25 ppm and higher would eliminate 100% of I. scapularis parasitizing deer. Additionally, 10 ppm fipronil feed controlled a considerable proportion of ticks, and results suggested 100% ticks could be eliminated if fipronil sulfone was present in plasma at ≥25.1 ppb. These results were paramount in developing a low dose fipronil deer feed for tick control and should provide valuable insights prior to execution of future field trials...
Operational Considerations for Using Deer-Targeted 4-Poster Tick Control Devices in a Tick-borne Disease Endemic Community. 2023. Public Health Management & Practice
... Operation of 4-Posters was feasible, and device challenges were easily remedied. Deer visitation and heavy nontarget animal use were documented at all devices. Unexpectedly, monthly corn consumption was not correlated with monthly deer-view days. The monthly cost per device was US $1279 or US $305 per hectare with an average 21 minutes of weekly service time. Use of 4-Posters by communities, public health agencies, or vector control programs may be a practicable addition to tick management programs ...
Ivermectin May Be Good for Humans After All—Indirectly July 27, 2023 Connecticut, Mother Jones
... In a small study, they found that feeding deer corn dosed with an ivermectin derivative builds up enough drug in their blood that ticks biting them will (probably) die... “This was a proof-of-concept study,” says lead author Scott Williams, a wildlife ecologist and chief scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven...
Feeding Deer Corn With Tick-Control Drug Shows Promise in New Study June 5, 2023 Entomology Today
... Despite its effectiveness in deer, the use of systemic treatment with ivermectin fell out of favor, largely due to labeling restrictions that prevent human consumption of cattle for 48 days post-treatment—problematic in a species like deer for which there are regulated hunting seasons... moxidectin, a more modern derivative of ivermectin, was discovered and, in 2018, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in medicine in humans over 12 years old for curing river blindneness ...
The study: Experimental oral delivery of the systemic acaricide moxidectin to free-ranging white-tailed deer (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) parasitized by Amblyomma americanum (Ixodida: Ixodidae) ... The systemic use of moxidectin for tick management in critical reproductive hosts has the potential to be effective in an areawide capacity while also permitting human consumption of treated venison...
Effective control of the motile stages of Amblyomma americanum and reduced Ehrlichia spp. prevalence in adults via permethrin treatment of white-tailed deer in coastal Connecticut, USA. May, 2021. Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases
... These data demonstrate that, when properly deployed in a density-dependent manner in terms of deer abundance, 4-poster devices can effectively manage parasitizing and host-seeking A. americanum [lone-star tick] populations and reduce the prevalence of two ehrlichial species of public health importance ...
Research from Mississippi State University finds fewer ticks around deer feeders because the feeders attract animals that eat the ticks such as bird and the great trick predator, the opossum.
Management of Plant and Arthropod Pests by Deer Farmers in Florida. Journal of Integrated Pest Management, Volume 11, Issue 1, 2020, 12.
... Of surveyed deer farmers in Florida, 94% reported using chemicals for plant and arthropod pest control. Deer farmers reported controlling biting midges, mosquitoes, horse flies, and deer flies as their target arthropods. The primary herbicide and arthropod-targeted pesticide reported were glyphosate and permethrin, respectively...
Availability and Nature of Commercial Tick Control Services in Three Lyme Disease Endemic States RA Jordan, TL Schulze - Journal of Medical Entomology, 2019
... While most survey respondents expressed knowledge of natural product acaricides and Damminix Tick Tubes, many reported that they either did not employ or knew very little about other alternative tick control methods (including entomopathogenic fungus and topical application of acaricides to tick hosts via 4-Poster deer treatment stations or Select TCS rodent bait boxes). This suggests either a failure to adequately inform the pest management industry and their potential client base of the availability of alternate methods, and/or industry concerns about cost and effectiveness of the alternatives...
Lyme-disease research in Howard County seeks best ways to reduce tick populations October 4, 2018 Maryland, Washington Post
... Contrary to the popular belief that deer are the primary source of the disease spread by ticks, researchers say, it is mice that usually first infect young ticks with the bacteria that causes Lyme... using a device for deer, called a “four poster,” that attracts deer with bait.,, except that it carries a pesticide to kill ticks...
Vaccination with anti-tick antigens to control multiple tick species and disease transmission in white-tailed deer and other host animals April, 2018 Patents
... This invention relates to methods to control and prevent tick infestations in immunized non-bovine animals, including deer, which further protects the animals against the transmission of tick-borne pathogens... the reduction in the incidence of tick infestation afforded by the vaccines may concurrently reduce the incidence of diseases caused by these pathogens in susceptible animals...
Howard County Deer Do Their Part to Control Ticks October 16, 2017 Maryland, USDA
... partners will place 4-Poster feeders/self-treatment devices in four Howard County parks with dense deer populations... "We know from past studies that the 4-Posters have effectively reduced the number of deer ticks. However, prior studies did not achieve consistent levels of tick control," ...
Cornell 4-poster Deer and Tick Study Several studies (Carroll et al 2002, Pound et al 2000a, Pound et al 2000b, Solberg et al 2003)1 have shown large reductions in tick populations in the years following use of 4-Poster devices.
Control Deer Ticks Using Four-Poster Feeding Device to Deliver Safe Pesticide to Deer University of Rhode Island
... Small-scale trials using a novel strategy developed by the USDA called the '4-poster' were recently completed in 5 northeastern states including Rhode Island. Over a 5-year period, abundance of nymphal deer ticks, the stage most responsible for disease transmission, was reduced by over 50% across a 2 square mile area. Now, with funding made available through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the town of Narragansett has the opportunity to put this technology into action on a town-wide scale, to test if this device can reduce Lyme disease incidence.
Systemic treatment of white-tailed deer with ivermectin-medicated bait to control free-living populations of lone star ticks
... Whole-kernel corn was treated with 10 mg ivermectin per 0.45 kg corn and fed at rate of approximately .45 kg/deer per day to white-tailed deer confined in the treatment pasture, whereas deer in an adjacent control pasture received a similar ration of untreated corn. Treatments were dispensed from February through September of 1992 and 1993, and free-living populations of lone star ticks... This study demonstrates that a freely consumed, systemically active acaricidal bait ingested by white-tailed deer under nearly wild conditions can significantly reduce the abundance of all stages of free-living long star ticks. [Use caution when feeding corn, use of goat or deer chow will reduce risks]
See also, Treatment for Lice, Idaho Fish and Game. Ten deer were anesthetized, given orange ear tags and treated with ivermectin (2 ml/100 lb). Marked deer were relocated on monthly intervals and retreated when and if they could be found. Treatment was effective in limiting the extent of the hair loss and reducing lice numbers in these deer.
Deer & Tick: Deployment of 4-posters soon 'unlikely' (study to test effectiveness of tick control for deer) February 24, 2011 New York Shelter Island Reporter By Ted Hills | February 23, 2011 in Government, News The Department of Environmental Conservation is unlikely to approve 4-poster deer feeding stations for use in reducing ticks in time for the town to deploy them by mid-March ... Testing showed tick numbers were “very, very low last year,” [Cornel scientist] Dr. Gilrein said, “so you can coast on that for at least a short time.”
Acaricidal treatment of white-tailed deer to control Ixodes ... (use of feeding systems for deer to control ticks) July 5, 2011 New York
Deer densities, estimated by aerial snow counts, averaged 22 and 28 deer per km(2) in Bedford and Lewisboro, respectively, over a 3-year period. Significant reductions in tick numbers on deer captured in the treatment area were noted in fall 1999 compared to deer captured at the control site. Drag sampling for nymphal host-seeking ticks indicated 63.6% control in 2001, which dropped to 54.8% the following year, but reached 80% in 2003. Higher-than-normal acorn production in 2001 that likely caused a drop in deer visitation to the feeders may have reduced efficacy against larval ticks in 2002. The 4-Poster effectively reduced the density of Ixodes scapularis, though the level of control is dependent on environmental factors that affect feeding behavior of white-tailed deer..
American Lyme Disease Foundation, Information on 4-Poster
Studies ... have shown that use of '4-Poster' technology has resulted in the control of 92 to 98% of free-living tick populations in areas around the devices after three years of use.,, Sites that are deer-fenced or where movement of deer is otherwise 'controlled' have better results than 'unrestricted sites,' where deer are able to come and go as they please.
North Haven Residents Call for Tick Abatement July 5, 2012 New York, The Sag Harbor Express Josephine DeVincenz ... urged the North Haven Village Board to explore implementing a “4-Poster” program in the village... Cornell Cooperative Extension, which completed the 4-Poster study in Shelter Island in 2011, DeVincenzi is correct. The study did show tick populations could be controlled over time and significantly reduced using 4-Poster devices. The duel feeding stations are designed to apply the insecticide permethrin to the necks, head, ears and shoulders of deer ...
Update on: 4-Poster Tick Management and White-tailed Deer April 14, 2012, Brookhaven National Lab (BNL)
Studies conducted in North Haven, Shelter & Fire Islands found:
• Car deer accidents didn’t really change
• Deer didn’t move out of home ranges
• Raccoons, squirrels, mice, birds did use devices
• Residue transfer to meat non-conclusive
• Efficacy overall – 86% reduction in ticks
BNL ready to order 14 devices
Efficacy of Amitraz-Impregnated Collars on White-Tailed Deer (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) in Reducing Free-Living Populations of Lone Star Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) 2012 Journal of Economic Entomology, JM Pound, KH Lohmeyer, RB Davey, JA Miller…
Over a 7 yr period, we monitored the effect of a commercially available, amitraz impregnated anti-tick collar in controlling free-living populations of lone star ticks, Amblyomma americanum (L.) when manually fitted around necks of white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann). Study animals in treatment and control groups were confined in 38.8 ha game-fenced and densely vegetated treatment plots in South Texas. Tick densities during years 1 and 7 served as untreated pre- and posttreatment comparisons and treatments occurred during years 2 through 5. Reductions in tick densities in the treatment plot were compared against tick densities in a control plot having similar vegetation and numbers of untreated deer. During years of treatment, indices of control pressure ranged from 18.2 to 82.6 for nymphs and 16.9–78.7 for adults, and efficacy, expressed as percentage control during the final year of treatment, was 77.2 and 85.0%, respectively, for nymphal and adult ticks. These data show that acaricidal collar treatments provide efficacies very similar to those achieved with the existing ivermectin-medicated bait and ‘4-Poster’ topical treatment technologies to control ticks feeding on wild white-tailed deer.
