Biological control for deer ticks.Symbiotic symbiotic /sym·bi·ot·ic/ (sim?bi-ot´ik) associated in symbiosis; living together. sym·bi·ot·ic adj. Of, resembling, or relating to symbiosis. microbes and nematodes make a versatile combination that is lethal to a variety of insects found in soil (SN: 7/26/97, p. 58). That combination may now prove useful in controlling not just pests of plants but of people. Researchers from the Department of Agriculture are exploring the use of nematodes in attacking the hard-to-spot ticks involved in the spread of Lyme disease to humans. At the Agricultural Research Service in Beltsville, Md., parasitologist parasitologist a person skilled in parasitology. Dolores Dolores (or Delores) was a common given name (until the 1960s in the USA); it is cognate with the English word "dolorous" (meaning sorrowful) and equivalent in meaning. Hill has tested Steinernema and Heterorhabditis nematodes for their ability to control adult deer ticks. The nematodes crawl or bite into the tick's body, then release their microbial microbial pertaining to or emanating from a microbe. microbial digestion the breakdown of organic material, especially feedstuffs, by microbial organisms. partners, which infect and kill the tick within 24 hours. "Nematodes are extremely effective" against one stage of the ticks' life cycle, says Hill. She plans this fall to test woodsy residential areas visited by tick-carrying deer. It may be possible to reduce the numbers of egg-laying female ticks and thus reduce the number of young, disease-transmitting ticks the following spring. Other USDA USDA, n.pr See United States Department of Agriculture. researchers are exploring the use of fungi as yet another biological alternative to tick-killing chemical sprays. |
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