Indian Vet. J.

74, July, 1997 : 562 - 564

ACARICIDAL EFFECT OF AV/EPP/14 AGAINST DOG TICKS UNDER LABORATORY AND FIELD
CONDITIONS
D.N. Panda and S.C. Misra
Department of Parasitotogy, College of Veterinary Science
and Animal Husbandry, O.U.A.T.,Bhubaneswir-751 003.
The injudicious use of chemical acaricides on pet dogs and in the premises to control
rhipicephalid ticks not only adversely affects animal health and results in the development of resistant tick
strains (Nolan, 1987) but also in the long run poses a great threat to human health due to lack of
precautionary measures during acaricidal applications and frequent physical contact with treated pets and
environment. Therefore, these should be gradually replaced by safer, biodegradable and eco-friendly
herbal acaricides after their proper evaluation. This communication deals with the in vivo efficacy of one
such herbal product AV/EPP/14* against experimental and natural tick infestation of dogs.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Laboratory trial: Six dogs of group I and six dogs of group II were respectively infested each with
laboratory reared 300 unfed nymphs and 200 unfed adults of Rhipicephalus sanguineus, inside cloth
bags tied to the ears. After 48 h of attachment, two dogs from each group were sprayed, with 1:2 and
another two with 1:4 dilutions of AV/EPP/ 14 and the remaining two dogs with tap water. The dogs were
groomed lightly at 12 h post treatment (HPT) in order to remove dead and detached ticks. The numbers
of nymphs or adults attached on each dog were counted before treatment and again at 24 and 48 HPT.
Field trial: Twenty four pet dogs of different breeds and age groups naturally infested with immature and
adult rhipicephalid ticks were selected for this study. Before treatment, tick counts were done by counting
all the ticks present on on6 side of the body and multiplying the number by 2. Three dogs with low grade
(count of < 50). 4 with moderate (50-100) and 4 with heavy (>100) tick infestations were treated with 1:2
dilution of AV/EPP/14 by aerosol spray. Similarly, 3 dogs with low grade, 4 with moderate and 3 with
heavy infestations were treated with 1:4 dilution. Three dogs with moderate to heavy infestations served
as untreated control. The pet owners were advised to do light grooming of their dogs 12 HPT. The
efficacy of the drug was judged from mortality of ticks at 24 and 48 HPT, and period of protection from
reinfestation.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Laboratory trial of AV/EPP/14 against experimentally infested nymphs and adults showed that both
1:2 and 1:4 dilutions of the drug completely eliminated the nymphal population, whereas there was 98%
and 90% reduction of adults following a single application with 1:2 and 1:4 dilutions, respectively (Table 1)

Research code name of the new ectoparasitiddal formulation of Dabur Ayurvet Limited, 22 Site IV,
Sahibabad, Gaziabad - 201010.
Table1. In vivo efficacy of AV/EPP/14 against Rhipicephalus sanguineus experimental infestation on
dogs.
No. of ticks & % control (in
Stages of Tick No. of No. of ticks parentheses) at indicated time
subjected to Conc. Dogs before after single treatment
treatment treated treatment
24 Hrs 48 Hrs
Nymph 1:2 2 437 32(92.28) 0(100)
1:4 2 388 61(84.28) 0(100)

Tap water 2 411 411(0) 411(0)

Adult 1:2 2 282 86 (69.50) 5(98.26)
1:4 2 296 121(59.12) 28(90.54)
Tap water 2 292 292(0) 292(0)

Table 2. Effect of AV/EPP/14 on rhipicephalid tick naturally infesting dogs.

Avg. No. of ticks & %

Avg. No. control (in parentheses) Residual
No. of
AV/EPP/14 Intensity of of ticks time after single effects In
Dogs
Conc. infestation before treatment. days at
treated
treatment indicated
24hrs 48 hrs
1:2 3 Light 43 7(83.72) 2(95.34) 14-18
4 Medium 85 19(77.65) 6(92.94)

4 Heavy 177 32(81.92) 9(94.91)

1:4 3 Light 39 16(58.97) 5(87.18) 10-12

4 Medium 88 30(65.91) 8(90.91)
4 Heavy 152 53(65.13) 17(88.81)
Untreated Medium-
3 96 94 90
Control Heavy

The results of the field trials (Table 2) revealed that single application of 1:2 dilution of the drug gave
93-95% kill, while 1:4 dilution proved 87-90% effective against all stages or rhipicephalid ticks. The
residual protection period varied from 14-18 days and 10-12 days. For adequate control of ticks with'
a minimum of hazard to animals, man and environment, an answer seems to lie in the herbal
agents. The efficacy of herbal formulations against mange in dogs (Das, 1996- Mignon and
Losson, 1996) and of AV'EPP/14 against mange and ectoparasites in dogs (Roy et at., 1996), have
earlier been reported. The berbal ingredients of AV/EPP/14, viz., Acoorus calamus (Deshmukh et al.,
1982), Azadirachta indica (Singh, 1983), Pongamia glabra (Kale and Pachgaonkar, 1969), Cedrus
deodara (Lai et al., 1976) and Eucalyptus globulus (Chavan et a/., 1982) are known for their insecticidal,
growth inhibitory anti-moulting, antifertility and repellent activities.
In the present study, single application of 1:2 and 1:4 dilutions of AV/EPP/14 on dogs
experimentally and naturally infested with rhipicephalid ticks killed all the developmental stages and
substantially reduced the adult population within 48 hours of treatment. This confirmed our earlier
observations of in vitro efficacy study of AV/EPP/14 which showed 100% mortality of nymphs treated with
1:0 to 1:4 dilutions, and 100%, 100% 88-98%, 70-92% and 47-83% mortality of adult females at 1:0, 1:1 ,
1:2, 1:3 and 1:4 dilutions respectively (Panda and Misra, 1997). Moreover, the drug showed a residual
protective action till 14-18 days and 10-12 days after treatment with 1:2 and 1:4 dilutions, respectively
which is longer than the standard chemical dip on formulation (Garris, 1991).Therefore, the interval for
repeat treatment during the peak seasons to minimize the tick numbers on dogs can be longer in case of
AV/EPP/14 than the 2-3 weeks usually recommended for chemical acaricides. Although, the action of
AV/EPP/14 is somewhat delayed as compared to synthetic pesticides, the acaricidal and residual
properties are almost identical.
SUMMARY
In vivo trial of the herbal formulation AV/ EPP/14 on dogs experimentally infested with nymphs
and adults of .the dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus showed that single application with the drug at 1:2
dilutions completely eliminated nymphs and reduced the adult population by 98 per cent, and 1:4 dilution
killed 100 per cent nymphs and 90 per cent adults. In a separate trial, under field conditions, the efficacy
of single application AV/EPP/14 at 1:2 and 1:4 dilutions on all stages of canine rhipicephalid ticks was 93-
95 per cent and 87-90 per cent with a residual effect of 14-18 days and 10-12 days, respectively. The
drug was well tolerated and treated dogs showed no adverse effect.
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