Abstract:
The efficacy of a trap baited with an attractant blend comprising of attractionaggregation-
attachment pheromone (AAAP), 1-octen-3-ol and CO2 and treated
with Neem (Azadirachta indica) cake extracts (0.6% of azadirachtin) to attract and
expose the ticks, Amblyomma variegatum (Fabricius) (Acari: Ixodidae) to the active
constituents of the cake was evaluated in circular field plots.. Ticks were released
at various distances from trap placed at the center of the plots. Ticks that arrived
at the trap (and exposed to the extracts) and those in control plots were collected
and their mortality was monitored in the laboratory over a three-week period. All
concentrations of the neem extracts caused mortality of A. variegatum adults with
highest mortality rate (97.8%) recorded in the concentration of 30 % of extracts.
The mortality of the ticks was also dependent upon the time ticks were exposed to
the extracts. The findings suggest the possibility of using semiochemicals-baited
traps in combination with neem extracts for off-host control of these ticks in smallholder
farms.
