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  • From: "Sharon Gordon" <gordonse@one.net>
  • To: "permaculture" <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [permaculture] Fw: Ticks Can Survive Washing
  • Date: Fri, 5 Oct 2007 20:39:01 -0400


----- Original Message -----
From: "ARS News Service" <NewsService@ars.usda.gov>
To: "ARS News subscriber" <gordonse@one.net>
Sent: Friday, October 05, 2007 8:12 AM
Subject: Ticks Can Survive Washing


> STORY LEAD:
> Ticks Don't Come Out in the Wash
> ___________________________________________
>
> ARS News Service
> Agricultural Research Service, USDA
> Ann Perry, (301) 504-1628, ann.perry@ars.usda.gov
> October 5, 2007
> --View this report online, plus photos and related stories, at
www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr
> ___________________________________________
>
> Before venturing into tick-infested territory, you used a topical
repellant on exposed skin and outer clothing. When you returned, you did a
body check and threw your clothes in the wash. But clean clothes may not be
tick-free clothes.
>
> When he found a live lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) on the agitator
of his washing machine, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) entomologist
John Carroll decided to find out how tough ticks are. So he bagged up nymphs
from two species--the lone star tick and the deer tick, (Ixodes scapularis),
the creature that transmits Lyme disease--and put them in the washing
machine.
>
> Carroll used a combination of water temperature settings and detergent
types to wash the ticks. The majority of lone star ticks survived all the
water-detergent combinations with no obvious side effects. Most of the deer
ticks lived through the cold and warm water settings as well. But when one
type of detergent was used with a hot water setting, only 25 percent of the
deer ticks survived.
>
> When it came time to dry, all the ticks of both species died after an hour
of tumbling around at high heat. But when the dryer was set to "no heat,"
about one-third of the deer ticks and more than half of the lone star ticks
survived.
>
> Carroll placed the ticks in mesh bags, which kept them from draining away
during the rinse cycle and perhaps increased their odds for survival.
However, ticks might also survive a sudsy interlude by sheltering in the
folds and crevices of a typical load of laundry. Some tick species have been
observed to survive hours of submersion in fresh water.
>
> Both adult ticks and nymphs can transmit disease. Carroll's research
reinforces recommendations by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to wash and dry clothes at high temperatures after spending time
in areas known to harbor ticks.
>
> Carroll conducts research at the ARS Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory,
Beltsville, Md.
>
> ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research
agency.
>
> ___________________________________________
>
> This is one of the news reports that ARS Information distributes to
subscribers on weekdays. Send feedback and questions to the ARS News Service
at NewsService@ars.usda.gov.
>
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> * To change the address, please notify the ARS News Service at
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or to subscribe, please contact the ARS News Service or visit
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> __________________________________________
> ARS News Service, Information Staff, Agricultural Research Service
> 5601 Sunnyside Ave., Room 1-2251, Beltsville MD 20705-5128
> NewsService@ars.usda.gov | www.ars.usda.gov/news
> Phone (301) 504-1638 | fax (301) 504-1486
>




  • [permaculture] Fw: Ticks Can Survive Washing, Sharon Gordon, 10/05/2007

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