Brown Dog, Rocky Mountain…this wording on labels used to tick me off! (Species specific)

But not anymore. At least on treating ticks.

What I am referring to is the labeling on several products we have, where the exact species of tick was listed, preventing use of these products on species of ticks not listed.

There wasn’t a good label, until now, that would allow for treatment of the species of ticks that transmits Lyme disease for example. As you may know, control of Blacklegged ticks is critical when it comes to Lyme disease prevention. (This species has sometimes been improperly called the Deer tick, as that is one of the animals this tick infests.)

But we’ve never had a product that specifically listed Blacklegged (or deer) ticks on the label. Or even better, just a generalized use of the word “tick”.

But with the registration of DELTAGARD from Bayer, the label has been approved with simply “ticks” listed as one of the insects controlled. So this means every and all species of ticks. This gives you the opportunity to spray for any species that may be presenting a problem.

Most labels specifically mentioned Brown Dog ticks only, so that was all that could be legally treated. So the approved label on DELTAGARD is a step in the right direction. (Plus the area of use is very good, allowing application to public parks, residential settings and other key areas where the likelihood of infestation and exposure is higher.)

This brings us to the same point on other products, and the requirement to submit tests and trials on each and every insect listed on the label.

QUANTUM was just launched with nearly all ant species except Carpenter ants. Will it control this species? Or is a separate trial required to be submitted?

DEMAND has German Cockroaches on the label….

Does that mean it will only control German and not Oriental, American, Brown-Banded or Wood roaches? Or does it mean that the individual trials weren’t submitted?

I would hope in the future data on one species could simply be extrapolated to cover other insects in that same Genus (I remember a bit of taxonomy)…or is that too easy?