Ticks: Biology, Habitat and Premise Control
Hard ticks spend more than 90% of their lives off the host, in leaf litter, vegetation and building cracks, so control is largely a premise problem.
Pest and Pathogen Library
This library describes the pests and pathogens that drive premise biosecurity programs: their biology, where they live on a farm or property, why control fails, and which delivery approach addresses that failure. Each entry links to the environments, protocols and products that apply.
Arthropods: ticks, mites, lice and insects
Ticks cover the blacklegged, lone star, brown dog and cattle ticks, with life-stage biology and habitat. Housing ectoparasites cover poultry red mite, northern fowl mite and poultry lice, which differ sharply in where they live and so in how they are treated. Insects cover flies, darkling beetles, stored-product pests, ants, fire ants, cockroaches, bed bugs, fleas and mosquito larvae, plus the two apiary threats, varroa mite and Asian hornet. Each entry notes life stage and season.
Invertebrates and invasive species
Slugs and snails and invasive jumping worms are covered as biosecurity problems of movement: soil, mulch, plants and equipment carry them between sites. Entries explain life cycle, how they spread, and which containment steps sit alongside treatment. Where a species is regulated by a state or national invasive species list, the entry names the rule and what it restricts, so nurseries, landscapers and farms know their obligations before they treat or move material.
Pathogens and biofilm
Pathogen entries cover avian influenza, Salmonella, water-line biofilm, canine parvovirus in kennels, dermatophytes, Aspergillus and mold, and coccidia. They explain the organism, how it persists in the environment, and how disinfectant chemistry, especially chlorine dioxide, interacts with it in published studies. Product claims against any pathogen are governed by the registered label in each jurisdiction, and these pages keep disease biology separate from product claims. Entries also cover persistence on surfaces.
Key facts
- Poultry red mite infestation costs the European egg industry an estimated EUR 231 million per year (Sigognault Flochlay et al. 2017, Parasit Vectors 10:357)
- Arthropod pests of poultry, including mites, lice, flies and litter beetles, are managed through integrated programs combining housing, manure management and targeted chemical control (Axtell and Arends 1990, Annu Rev Entomol 35:101)
- Pest and disease claims on minimum-risk products are restricted; no claims linking pests to specific diseases (40 CFR 152.25(f)(3))
How our delivery technology applies
Each library entry ends with the delivery problem that defines control of that organism: refuges a spray cannot reach, residual that lasts days instead of weeks, a disinfectant spent by organic load. Those are the problems encapsulation is designed to change, and the entry states whether a Vegalab product addresses it now or is in development.
Choose a pest or pathogen to see biology, environments and control options.
Deer ticks (blacklegged ticks)
The blacklegged tick is a three-host tick of eastern and upper midwestern North America that lives in leaf litter at woodland edges.
Lone star tick: identification and yard control
The lone star tick is an aggressive, fast-moving three-host tick whose range has expanded from the southeastern United States into the Midwest and Northeast.
Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)
The brown dog tick is the one common tick that completes its entire life cycle indoors.
Cattle Ticks (Rhipicephalus microplus and R. annulatus)
Rhipicephalus microplus and R.
Red mites in chickens (poultry red mite)
The poultry red mite is a nocturnal blood feeder that lives in the structure of the henhouse, not on the bird.
Northern fowl mite: signs and control
The northern fowl mite completes its whole life cycle on the bird, mostly in the vent feathers, which makes it a different problem from the poultry red mite.
Chicken lice: identification and treatment
Poultry lice are chewing lice that feed on feather and skin debris and spend their entire life on the bird.
Varroa mites: signs and treatment options
Varroa destructor is the most damaging parasite of the western honey bee.
Asian Hornet (Vespa velutina) in Apiaries
The Asian hornet is an invasive social wasp that hunts honey bees at the hive entrance and can collapse foraging in weak colonies.
Ants around buildings and yards
Ant infestations are colony problems, so killing foragers rarely ends them.
Fire ants: identification and control
Red imported fire ants are a regulated invasive pest across the southern United States and a target of eradication in Australia.
Cockroaches in facilities
German cockroaches breed indoors year round and resist many insecticide classes, so spray-only programs fail.
Bed bugs: signs and treatment
Bed bugs are hard to control because they hide in cracks, resist pyrethroids and survive months without feeding.
Fleas in yards and kennels
Most of a flea infestation is not on the animal.
Barn flies: how to control them
Fly control on farms is won or lost in the manure and wasted feed where larvae develop.
Darkling beetles (lesser mealworm) in poultry houses
The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus, breeds in broiler and turkey litter and survives cleanout by burrowing into soil floors and insulation.
Stored-Product Mites and Insects in Feed and Grain
Stored-product pests reduce feed quality, heat grain and contaminate it with frass and allergens.
Mosquito Larvae in Farm and Yard Water
Mosquitoes are cheapest to control as larvae, in the standing water where they develop.
Slugs and Snails in Yards, Kennels and Premises
Slugs and snails move onto hard standing, runs and kennel yards from surrounding vegetation, especially in wet weather.
Jumping Worms (Amynthas and Metaphire)
Jumping worms are invasive Asian earthworms that turn forest floors and garden soils into dry, granular castings and strip leaf litter.
Bird flu and backyard chickens
Avian influenza virus is enveloped, so it is among the easier viruses to inactivate on a clean surface.
Salmonella on Farm Premises
Salmonella survives cleanout in dust, cracks, drains, rodents and insects, then recolonizes the next flock or herd.
Biofilm in Livestock Drinking Water Lines
Warm, slow-moving water, vitamins and water-soluble medications feed biofilm inside drinker lines.
Canine Parvovirus and Kennel Hygiene
Canine parvovirus is a non-enveloped virus that survives for months on surfaces and resists many common disinfectants, including most quaternary ammonium products.
Ringworm and Dermatophyte Spores in Stables and Barns
Ringworm in horses, cattle and small animals spreads through infective arthrospores shed with hair and scale onto stalls, tack, brushes and fences.
Mold and Aspergillus in Hatcheries and Barns
Aspergillus fumigatus spores are everywhere, but hatcheries, damp litter, moldy feed and bedding concentrate them to levels that challenge young birds and stock.
Coccidiosis in chickens
Coccidian oocysts are among the hardest biological targets on a farm.
Related reading
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