Shelter Island Reporter Thursday, December 22 & 29, 2005 PROSE & COMMENTS   Eats, gets treated and ticks leave By William E. Zitek, DVM      This title phrase was adapted from the humorous title of a recent bestseller ("Eats, Shoots & Leaves"). It is, however, an appropriate adaptation since it introduces the simple idea of what happens when the " 4Poster" system is put into use. The deer are fed; while they eat, they are treated with something that kills the ticks on them and eventually the tick population drops - they die.     The following paragraph is excerpted from a scientific paper reporting the results obtained by using the "4-Poster":     "During the third year of treatment, adult, nymph and larval questing [black-legged] ticks were reduced by 91 to 100 percent from sampled plots, and nymphal and larval ticks were reduced by 70 to 90 percent on sampled mice." (V Solberg, Journal of Vector Ecology 28(1): 117-134, 2003.)     The executive summary of the Shelter Island Tick Task Force stated: "In a recent survey of 'Selected Notifiable Diseases' in Suffolk County, Shelter Island had an incidence of Lyme disease that was almost twice that of the next highest town. Both Lyme disease, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferii and transmitted by the bite of the black-legged (deer) tick, and ehrlichiosis, caused by two species of bacteria and transmitted by the bite of the Lone Star tick, cause seriously debilitating and often chronic disease. Ticks of various species have been incriminated in transmitting, besides Lyme disease, STARI (Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness) and ehrlichiosis, tularemia, babesiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever in this geographic region."     The Deer and Tick Committee appointed by the Town of Shelter Island has been studying approaches to reducing tick-borne diseases. While reducing the deer population, the host species for the ticks that carry disease, is an important part of attacking the problem, there is available to us a scientifically proven and safe way to greatly reduce the tick population and thereby reduce the diseases they carry and can transmit to people.     Adults of the black-legged (deer) tick Ixodes scapularis and the Lone Star tick Amblyomma americanum both feed on the white-tailed deer. The deer is their preferred host and after they feed on the deer they breed and lay their eggs. The eggs hatch in the summer of the following year and begin the egg-Iarva-nymph-adult life cycle. The timing of each life cycle is dependent on the species of tick. In the case of the deer tick, the white-footed mouse is an important intermediate host, which adds the infective spirochete as the larvae or nymph feed on it.     There is a very effective way to reduce tick numbers and it uses the host to accomplish this. By killing the adult ticks on the deer, at the end of three years, adult, larval and nymphal tick numbers in the treated areas can be reduced by 91-100 percent.     How do we do this? By using a device called the "4-Poster." This is a device that dispenses clean whole kernel corn from a feeding bin and while the deer eat the corn, the insecticide, permethrin, is applied to their ears, head neck and shoulders where 90 percent of the adult ticks attach when feeding on the deer. The permethrin is applied by four applicator rollers that look like paint rollers. These applicators are impregnated with the permethrin. The deer come to eat the com and are treated. Eats, gets treated and ticks are killed!      In setting up an area-wide program of this type, one "4- Poster" would be used in every 50 usable acre area. Licensed trained personnel would tend the units as necessary, usually once weekly. The units would be used during the time the ticks are active.     Safety? In the "4-Poster"studies done so far, no report of human toxicity or injury has been made. Permethrin is an insecticide that has been commercially impregnated into the clothing for hunters, hikers and military uniforms in areas where it is needed to protect against ticks. Children with head lice are routinely treated with permethrin washes. Dogs are treated monthly with applications of permethrin to kill fleas and ticks. Permethrin is approved for use on cattle up to the day before slaughter. It disperses on the skin where it does its work against the ticks. It should be noted that the clean com that is used as "bait" is not impregnated with permethrin. The permethrin is only applied topically by the applicators and stays on the fur and skin.     What is holding us up from using this?     The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has two concerns. The first is that the use of the "4- Poster" would cause deer to congregate and in that case increase the possibility of disease dissemination - specifically, Chronic Wasting Disease (CWO). Feeding (or "baiting") deer is illegal in New York because of the possibility that it will bring large numbers of deer together, where such contact can spread disease. Our herd is pretty well confined, being on an island. Deer can swim but, essentially, our population is confined to this Island and therefore it is unlikely that CWO would arrive here unless ~ human introduces it by bringing in infective material from another area.     Even a casual observer will realize that we already have a large number of deer congregating due to the current deer over-population. Reducing these numbers to a normal carrying capacity by hunting is a very important part of the tick reduction program.     The DEC is also concerned with the use of permethrin on deer. The DEC does not approve the use of permethrin on deer. New York is the only continental state that has not approved the "4-Poster." The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the specific" 4- Poster" permethrin "tickicide" for use on deer. As noted before, permethrin is approved for use on humans and other domestic animals but, because the product is not labeled for use on deer, it is not currently permitted for use on deer.      The Deer and Tick Committee believes that the methodology for the use of the "4-Poster" system is valid and its use appropriate for tick disease reduction on Shelter Island. The committee's approach is to answer the questions the DEC poses and those of the community. If we do this - and the data and the answers are currently being sought - then we can amicably arrive at a workable solution to using this system on Shelter Island. Questions are out there and must be answered. That is why a public forum is being planned during the early spring so all of the residents of Shelter Island will have a chance to have their questions answered.       If we agree we have a problem, then we should - everyone - agree to help solve it. Pulling together is better than pulling apart. Dr. Zitek submitted this essay on behalf of the Shelter Island Deer and Tick Committee, of which he is a member.