Ticks don’t fly toward you. They don’t buzz a warning. They wait in leaf litter and low grass for a host to brush past, then climb aboard, often going undetected for hours. That stealth is part of why ticks are one of the hardest pests to defend against.
Anastasia Figurskey, senior associate, entomology, at S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., works on exactly that problem at the company’s Center for Insect Science and Family Health™. Figurskey’s role centers on the company’s personal repellent portfolio: running efficacy studies against ticks and mosquitoes, then using that data to register products worldwide. The Center itself, established in 1957, is among the largest private urban entomology research facilities in the world, with entomologists focused on product evaluation and development across personal repellents, area repellents, and insecticides. She will be bringing her expertise to this year’s Tick Academy.
A pest built to be missed
Ask Figurskey what makes ticks uniquely difficult, and she starts with biology.
“Ticks present several practical challenges,” Figurskey said. A tick’s life cycle can span months or years, with multiple stages that each require a blood meal before advancing, which makes them difficult to rear, even in a lab.
In the field, it gets more complicated: Many species, life stages, habitats, and seasonal activity patterns all must be accounted for, and unlike mosquitoes, ticks give no obvious signal when they’ve found you.
“Ticks silently quest for a passing host in low-lying vegetation or leaf litter,” Figurskey said, and because they’re active at different times of year depending on environment, host availability and life stage, “defending against ticks and predicting their behavior can be a challenge for anyone.”
That problem has also grown more geographically complex. “The recognized distributions of several medically important tick species have expanded or become better documented, and some communities may now encounter species and diseases that historically received less attention in their region,” Figurskey said. But, she cautioned, an apparent increase in tick activity can reflect real geographic spread, greater public awareness, expanded surveillance, or some mix of all three. And finding a tick species in a region doesn’t automatically mean every pathogen it can carry is being locally transmitted.
The most common mistake
When asked where people go wrong, Figurskey points to two things: relying on just one line of defense and skipping prevention altogether. “An EPA-registered insect repellent labeled for use against ticks is an important tool, but it should be part of a layered approach that includes recognizing potential tick habitats, wearing appropriate clothing, and checking your body, clothing, gear, and pets after outdoor activity,” she said.
Even people who do use repellent sometimes apply it incorrectly, skip reapplication, or reach for a product that isn’t labeled for ticks at all. And using repellent isn’t fail-safe. “No preventive measure eliminates all risk. Showering soon after returning indoors and checking your body and clothing for ticks remain important,” Figurskey said.
For children specifically, Figurskey points to CDC guidance: Avoid repellents containing oil of lemon eucalyptus or para-menthane-3,8-diol on kids younger than 3, and never apply repellent directly to a child’s hands, eyes, mouth or irritated skin. The safer approach is to spray your own hands first, then carefully apply to a child’s face while avoiding the eyes and mouth.
What’s next at Tick Academy
Figurskey will bring her expertise directly to Tick Academy attendees this October.
“My presentation will focus on ticks and personal repellents and provide an overview of medically important tick species in the United States, the active ingredients commonly used in personal repellent products, and the methods used to evaluate topical repellent efficacy against ticks,” Figurskey said.
The goal, she added, is for attendees to leave able to talk confidently about repellents and tick protection, whether they’re advising the public, managing a field crew, briefing a school nurse, or just trying to keep their own family safe.
You can learn more from Figurskey and Tick Academy Platinum sponsor S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., this Oct. 14-15. Register here.
To learn more about sponsoring Tick Academy, contact Nikki Blunier.
