The new device may provide a better way to prevent tick bites

When it comes to preventing tick bites — especially given the sharp rise in tick-borne diseases over the past decade — insect repellent spray is helpful but not ideal
.

DEET, for example, is designed to prevent fast-moving mosquitoes from landing on the host and flying away
seconds after biting the host.
Ticks, on the other hand, do not fly, but ambush the host and then slowly climb up the host until they are embedding, feeding, and may stay for days
.

"Unfortunately, most mosquito repellents were developed more than 75 years ago and not against ticks," said Stephen Rich, an expert on vector-borne diseases, a professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and executive director
of the New England Center of Excellence for Vector-borne Diseases (NEWVEC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
"DEET is the gold standard and works pretty well, but the Holy Grail will be another mosquito repellent – not a contact mosquito repellent like DEET, but a spatial repellent – that repellents against ticks are just as good as DEET, if not better
.
"

The experiments at the Ritchie Laboratory of Medical Zoology used a new controlled-release device developed by scientist and entrepreneur Noel Ellman with funding from the Department of Defense Medical Research Program
.
Rich and his colleagues released synthetic pyrethroids, isofluthrins, and methanerates into a transparent chamber containing three vertical climbing rods to test the effects
on ticks.
Ticks do not come into direct contact with mosquito repellent, instead, the active ingredient creates more "force fields" that alter and slow down how quickly
the tick approaches its target.

The study found that these two spatial mosquito repellents were effective in altering the behavior of ticks, making them less likely to climb vertically and more likely to fall off poles or fall
.

Senior author Rich said: "While we still have a lot of work to do, these innovative findings demonstrate the principle that these spatial mosquito repellents alter tick behaviour and we hope to reduce tick bites
in this way.
"

Eric Siegel, the paper's first author, helped design a vision system that can precisely track tick movements
in the lab.
Siegel is a lab technician who is about to begin his PhD
in microbiology under Ritchie.
"People often say the word 'mosquito repellent,' and our goal is to redefine the repellent properties that protect ticks and find ways
to measure it," he said.
"There's still a lot we don't know about the mechanisms of smell and taste in ticks, which is the biggest challenge in these experiments and the overall picture of conservation product development
.
"

In the United States, these compounds are used against three major bite ticks: scapularis (black-footed tick or deer tick), which transmits diseases such as Lyme disease and anaplasmosis; d.
Abstract (American dog tick), which can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia; And A: Americanum (Lone Star Tick), which can transmit ehrlichiosis and has been linked to
red meat allergies.

Experiments found that flumethrin inhibited 75% of d.
Abstract, 67% A: Americanum 50% i.
e.
scapularis
.
Cyflothrin had a slightly better effect on 81% of D.
Abstract, 73% A: 72% of Americanum i.
e.
scapularis
.

"We were impressed with both the ticks' mosquito repellents and behavioral changes," said Erman, founder and CEO of GearJump Technologies, who received funding from the Department of Defense to design a controlled-release device
that could attach to soldiers' boots.
According to the paper, many of the ticks in the experiment moved slower, decreased their ability to move and appeared to be in a "drunken state.
"

A few years ago, Ellman approached Ritchie to design and use the device to experiment
with various mosquito repellents.
The next step is to conduct experiments
with real animal hosts.

"Mosquito repellents may not stop ticks from biting us," Ritchie said
.
"We hope that insect repellents will help them stay away from us, and that's where the battle lines should really be
divided.
"

Researchers can imagine that one day, such devices will be commercially available to the general public
.

Until then, research will continue
.
"Most of us still don't know how the chemicals we use work
," Siegel said.
"When we do, we can develop and refine these measures
in a more targeted way.
"