1. Vector Borne Zoonotic Dis. 2019 Jan 8. doi: 10.1089/vbz.2018.2339. [Epub ahead of
print]
Evaluation of Five Pulicides to Suppress Fleas on Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs:
Encouraging Long-Term Results with Systemic 0.005% Fipronil.
Eads DA(1), Biggins DE(2), Bowser J(2), Broerman K(2), Livieri TM(3), Childers
E(4), Dobesh P(5), Griebel RL(5).
Author information:
(1)1 Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado.
(2)2 U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, Colorado.
(3)3 Prairie Wildlife Research, Wellington, Colorado.
(4)4 National Park Service, Badlands National Park, Interior, South Dakota.
(5)5 U.S. Forest Service, Wall, South Dakota.
Plague, a flea-borne disease, hampers efforts to restore populations of
black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes), which occupy colonies of prairie dogs
(Cynomys spp.) in North America. Plague is managed by infusing prairie dog
burrows with DeltaDust® 0.05% deltamethrin, a pulicide that kills fleas.
Experiments are needed to identify pulicides that can be used in rotation with
DeltaDust for integrated plague management. In South Dakota, USA, we tested the
efficacy of four pulicide dusts when applied at a rate of 8
g per burrow on
colonies of black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus): Sevin® 5% carbaryl;
Dusta-cide® 6% malathion; Alpine® 0.25% dinotefuran with 95% diatomaceous earth;
and Tri-Die® 1% pyrethrum with 40% amorphous silica and 10% piperonyl butoxide.
We also tested systemic 0.005% fipronil, which was distributed as
½
cup of laced
grain per burrow. We sampled prairie dogs on 3294 occasions and detected 10,041
fleas. Sevin and Dusta-cide suppressed fleas but only for 1 month. Neither Alpine
nor Tri-Die had any noticeable, consistent effect on fleas. Fipronil suppressed
fleas by 97-100% for 3 months. The residual effect of fipronil persisted for
∼
12
months. Efficacy of fipronil seems comparable with DeltaDust, which exhibited a
residual effect for
∼
10 months in prior studies. Continued research is needed to
optimize fipronil treatments for plague management on prairie dog colonies.
DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2018.2339
PMID: 30620249
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