Management of insect pests in rangeland and pasture

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Management of insect pests in rangeland and pasture

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Management of insect pests in rangeland and pasture

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

VetPestX: Finally! An Online, Searchable, Pesticide Label Database Just for Pests of Animals

Almost all online pesticide databases contain crop-specific product labels; very few include products labeled for animal use. A single online location for veterinary pesticide labels was needed. Led by Alec Gerry of the University of California at Riverside (UCR), veterinary entomologists from California, Washington, New Mexico, and Oklahoma contributed information on animal pesticide products registered in five western states (CA, WA, OR, ID, NM) and OK to a new, online, searchable, veterinary pesticide labels database named VetPestX, developed and maintained on UC Riverside\u27s website. Animal producers and owners requesting pesticide information to manage pests are now routinely directed to VetPestX

Effects of woody plant encroachment by eastern redcedar on mosquito communities in Oklahoma

Woody plant encroachment into grasslands is occurring worldwide, affecting ecosystems in ways that likely influence mosquito-borne disease transmission. In the U.S. Great Plains, encroachment by eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) (ERC) may be expanding conducive habitat for mosquitoes and their hosts, but few studies have evaluated associations between ERC encroachment and West Nile virus (WNV). To test the hypotheses that mosquito abundance and WNV-infected mosquitoes increase with increasing ERC cover, we collected mosquitoes in 32 sites in Oklahoma reflecting various ERC encroachment stages. We found support for our first hypothesis, as mean abundance of Aedes albopictus increased significantly with ERC cover. However, Psorophora columbiae and Anopheles quadrimaculatus abundance decreased with increasing ERC. There was no significant association with ERC for other mosquito species. We could not test our second hypothesis due to low WNV prevalence, but the only detected WNV-infected pool of mosquitoes (Cx. tarsalis) was collected in ERC. Our results suggest ERC encroachment increases abundance of at least one medically important mosquito species, but further research is needed to clarify how encroachment affects ecology of the entire WNV disease system through changes to vector and host communities, vector-host interactions, and thus disease transmission and prevalence. Understanding relationships between woody plant encroachment and the nidus of infection for mosquito-borne diseases will be crucial for targeting public health efforts, including land management activities that limit and/or eradicate woody plant encroachment, particularly in areas with high levels of disease risk.Natural Resource Ecology and ManagementEntomology and Plant Patholog

Common ticks of Oklahoma and tick-borne diseases

The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service periodically issues revisions to its publications. The most current edition is made available. For access to an earlier edition, if available for this title, please contact the Oklahoma State University Library Archives by email at [email protected] or by phone at 405-744-6311

Risk of encountering questing ticks (Ixodidae) and the prevalence of tickborne pathogens in Oklahoma state parks

State parks, used by many for various kinds of recreation, are also places where people and their companion animals are exposed to ticks and tickborne pathogens. While most studies in state parks in the United States have evaluated risk of encounter of Lyme-infected ticks, limited studies have focused on state parks in the Great Plains region where tick-borne rickettsial pathogens are more common. Six state parks in four ecoregions of Oklahoma were surveyed for exposure to questing ticks by flag sampling along hiking trails between April and August 2015, and pooled prevalence of tick-borne pathogens was assessed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Exposure to ticks varied among parks by location and month, with an encounter rate of 10.8 ticks per minute at Sequoyah State Park in eastern Oklahoma, to less than one tick per minute at Roman Nose State Park in western Oklahoma. Questing ticks were tested for Rickettsia sp., Ehrlichia chaffeensis Anderson et al. 1992 emend. Dumler et al. 2001, and Borrelia burgdorferi Johnson et al. 1984 emend. Baranton et al. 1992 with pooled prevalence rates between 56 and 0% differing among parks. The greatest risk of encountering ticks was at Sequoyah State Park in May 2015, with pooled prevalence rates of 93.3% (Rickettsia sp.) and 13.3% (E. chaffeensis). Results indicated that risk of exposure to ticks and tick-borne pathogens depended on the state park during summer months. These data could be used by the park system to alert visitors to risk of encountering pathogen-infected ticks in a given state park.Peer reviewedEntomology and Plant Patholog

Comment on the Definition of Eligible Organization for Purposes of Coverage of Certain Preventive Services Under the Affordable Care Act

This comment letter was submitted by U.C. Berkeley corporate law professors in response to a request for comment by the Health and Human Services Department on the definition of eligible organization under the Affordable Care Act in light of the Supreme Court\u27s decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. Eligible organizations will be permitted under the Hobby Lobby decision to assert the religious principles of their shareholders to exempt themselves from the Affordable Care Act\u27s contraceptive mandate for employees. In Hobby Lobby, the Supreme Court held that the nexus of identity between several closely-held, for-profit corporations and their shareholders holding “a sincere religious belief that life begins at conception” was sufficiently close to justify granting such corporations an exemption from the Affordable Care Act\u27s contraceptive mandate pursuant to the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. More specifically, the Court ascertained that the overall interests of the corporations and their natural-person shareholders were sufficiently identical to warrant ascribing the religious commitments of the shareholders to their corporations. Notably, the Court stopped short of articulating a diagnostic test for determining when a sufficient overlap of interests exists; instead, it concluded that well-established principles in state corporate law should provide such guidance. We believe that state corporate law does in fact provide the diagnostic test the Court desires for determining when it is appropriate to disregard the distinct identity of a corporation for the identity of its shareholders. This test is rooted in the long-standing case law that constitutes the alter ego doctrine (commonly referred to as “veil piercing”). To sustain a claim of veil piercing, state corporate law uniformly requires there to be “unity of ownership and interest” between the corporation and its shareholders. If a corporation is operated as the effective alter ego of its shareholders to such an extent that its separate corporate existence ceases to exist as a practical matter, then a veil piercing claim can be established that effectively attributes the corporation’s legal rights and obligations to its shareholders, and vice versa. A veil piercing conclusion effectively holds that there is no practical difference between the corporation and the shareholders themselves. We therefore propose that for purposes of defining an “eligible organization” under Hobby Lobby, the HHS and other federal organizations should follow the corporate law doctrine of veil piercing. Indeed, to make this doctrine administratively feasible, we further suggest that shareholders of a corporation should have to certify that they and the corporation have a unity in identity and interests, and therefore the corporation should be viewed as the shareholders’ alter ego

College students' knowledge of ticks in Oklahoma: Assessment and insights

Ticks (Arachnida: Acari) are common in Oklahoma and may transmit tick-borne diseases (TBDs) to people. Due to the difficulty in reducing tick populations, awareness of tick bite prevention, proper tick removal, and knowledge of when to seek medical treatment are critical. However, outreach and extension programs are hampered by a lack of knowledge of what community members know about ticks. To address this limitation, we surveyed college students enrolled in three nonmajor Entomology courses at Oklahoma State University in 2018. Of the 483 students invited to take a survey, 224 (46.4%) students took both surveys. Pre-survey responses indicated lower levels of knowledge of tick biology compared to post-survey responses. For both pre- and post-survey respondents, "ticks can jump" and "ticks reside up in trees" received the fewest correct responses. A majority of survey respondents considered Lyme disease to be the predominant TBD in Oklahoma, although it is not established in Oklahoma. Supplemental education overcame these knowledge gaps, with the exception of knowledge of Lyme disease which was still considered to be the predominant TBD in the post-survey. Our results can be used to develop assessment tools to improve extension programs and enhance protection from TBDs.Peer reviewedEntomology and Plant Patholog

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding ticks, tick-borne pathogens, and tick prevention among beef producers in Oklahoma

Tick-borne diseases are increasing in the United States, with regional need to understand how knowledge of ticks translates into preventative behavior among specific occupational groups. Little is known regarding what livestock producers know about ticks and their perceived personal and herd-based risk despite being one of the largest agro-industries in the United States. Using a nonprobability convenience sampling protocol, 183 beef producers representing 65% of the counties in Oklahoma completed a 15-question survey focused on knowledge of ticks and perceived risks ticks pose to their cattle and themselves, their methods of prevention (personal and their cattle), and sources of information. Most producers thought ticks were not a major problem for their cattle (58%), themselves, their families, and those who worked for them (66%). Most were personally concerned about spotted fever group rickettsiosis (79%) but had never heard of ehrlichiosis (9%). Eighty-five percent used at least one type of personal protective behavior, and 86% used at least one source of information for issues with ticks on their cattle. As the first published tick-focused survey involving livestock producers in the United States, it is apparent that beef producers in the central region are cognizant of ticks on their cattle and perceive ticks to be a risk on some level. However, increasing their knowledge of all areas of ticks and tick-borne pathogens, especially preventative measures for humans and cattle, is needed.Peer reviewedEntomology and Plant PathologyAnimal and Food Science