EFFECTS OF EXPOSING ADULTS OF AMBLYOMMA VARIEGATUM TO NEEM CAKE EXTRACTS IN TRAPS BAITED WITH SEMIOCHEMICALS UNDER SEMI -LABORATORY CONDITIONS

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.