Editing Tick (section)

===Population control measures===
[[File:Tick dragging.jpg|thumb|Researcher collecting ticks using the "[[tick dragging]]" method]]

With the possible exception of widespread [[DDT]] use in the [[Soviet Union]], attempts to limit the population or distribution of disease-causing ticks have been quite unsuccessful.<ref name="Dennis-3">[[#Dennis|Dennis & Piesman, 2005]]: [https://books.google.com/books?id=dKlUARLKT9IC&pg=PA3 p. 3]{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 
The parasitoid [[Encyrtidae|encyrtid wasp]] ''[[Ixodiphagus hookeri]]'' has been investigated for its potential to control tick populations. It lays its eggs into ticks;<ref name="Plantard2012">{{cite journal | vauthors = Plantard O, Bouju-Albert A, Malard MA, Hermouet A, Capron G, Verheyden H | title = Detection of Wolbachia in the tick Ixodes ricinus is due to the presence of the hymenoptera endoparasitoid Ixodiphagus hookeri | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | pages = e30692 | date = 2012 | pmid = 22292021 | pmc = 3266912 | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0030692 |doi-access=free| bibcode = 2012PLoSO...730692P }}</ref>{{efn|Micrographs of the wasp laying eggs into a tick, and the hole by which the young wasps emerge from the tick's dead body, are available in Plantard et al 2012.<ref name="Plantard2012"/>}} the hatching wasps kill their hosts.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Tijsse-Klasen E, Braks M, Scholte EJ, Sprong H | title = Parasites of vectors--Ixodiphagus hookeri and its Wolbachia symbionts in ticks in The Netherlands | journal = Parasites & Vectors | volume = 4 | pages = 228 | date = December 2011 | pmid = 22152674 | pmc = 3248373 | doi = 10.1186/1756-3305-4-228|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Predators and competitors of tick hosts can indirectly reduce the density of infected nymphs, thereby lowering tick-borne disease risk by lowering the density and/or tick burden of reservoir-competent hosts. A study in the Netherlands found that the number of larval ticks on bank voles and wood mice was lower at sites with significant red fox (''[[Vulpes vulpes]]'') and stone marten (''[[Martes foina]]'') activity.<ref name="Hofmeester et al">{{cite journal | vauthors = Hofmeester TR, Jansen PA, Wijnen HJ, Coipan EC, Fonville M, Prins HH, Sprong H, van Wieren SE | title = Cascading effects of predator activity on tick-borne disease risk | journal = Proceedings. Biological Sciences | volume = 284 | issue = 1859 | pages = 20170453 | date = July 2017 | pmid = 28724731 | pmc = 5543215 | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2017.0453|doi-access=free }}  [[File:CC-BY icon.svg|50px]] Material was copied from this source, which is available under a [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License].</ref>

This supports the results of a study from the [[northeastern United States]], in which the incidence of Lyme borreliosis was negatively correlated with the density of red fox, possibly because foxes decrease the density of [[white-footed mice]] (''Peromyscus leucopus''), the most important reservoir-competent host for ''[[Borrelia burgdorferi]]''.<ref name="Hofmeester et al"/><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Levi T, Kilpatrick AM, Mangel M, Wilmers CC | title = Deer, predators, and the emergence of Lyme disease | journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America | volume = 109 | issue = 27 | pages = 10942–7 | date = July 2012 | pmid = 22711825 | pmc = 3390851 | doi = 10.1073/pnas.1204536109 | bibcode = 2012PNAS..10910942L | doi-access = free }}</ref>

Another natural form of control for ticks is the [[helmeted guineafowl]], a bird species that consumes mass quantities of ticks.<ref>[[#Duffy|Duffy et al. (1992)]]</ref> [[Opossums]] groom themselves, swallowing many ticks; they are net destroyers of ticks, killing around ninety percent of the ticks that attempt to feed on them.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boston25news.com/news/dont-hit-that-opossum-how-opossums-help-fight-ticks-and-lyme-disease/768984007|title='Destroyers of ticks': How opossums help fight ticks and Lyme Disease| vauthors = Main D |date=13 June 2018|publisher=Boston 25 News}}</ref> More generally, high [[biodiversity|animal diversity]] has a strongly protective effect against tick-borne disease.<ref name=dirt>{{cite web|title=The tick-resistant yard|publisher=Dirt Magazine|date=11 May 2018| vauthors = Tucker B |url=http://www.dirt-mag.com/article/20180511/STORIES01/180519997/0/peopleanimals02/The-tick-resistant-yard}}</ref>

Topical tick medicines may be toxic to animals and humans. The [[synthetic pyrethroid]] insecticide [[phenothrin]] in combination with the hormone analogue [[methoprene]] was a popular topical flea and tick therapy for felines. Phenothrin kills adult ticks, while methoprene kills eggs. Some products were withdrawn,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/flea-tick-drops.htm |publisher=[[United States Environmental Protection Agency|Environmental Protection Agency]] |title=Hartz flea and tick drops for cats and kittens to be phased out |year=2005 |archive-date=11 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100111070012/http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/flea-tick-drops.htm}}</ref> and others are known to cause adverse reactions.