Preliminary studies on natural enemies of hard ticks and methods of their population control in Latvia

Abstract

Hard ticks Ixodidae (Acari) transmit pathogens causing dangerous diseases such as tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease. These tick species in Latvia are dog tick Ixodes ricinus and taiga tick Ixodes persulcatus. The use of acaricides to control tick populations raises concerns over environmental pollution. Environmentally friendly way to control ticks is necessary to develop. Parasitoid tick wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri (Hymenoptera, Encyrtidae) are natural enemies of Ixodidae ticks. The aim of the current research was to study natural enemies of Ixodes spp. and determine causes of tick mortality, and development of methods for tick rearing in laboratory conditions. In order to carry out the artificial feeding of ticks, a prototype of a tick feeding device using skin-imitating membrane was created.