Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Animals: equine

Target Pests

• Target Pests: insects, ticks

Practices

• Pest Management: biological control, chemical control, cultural control, disease vectors

• Animal Production: animal protection and health, manure management

Maine has one of the largest horse populations per capita in the Northeast, yet the equine industry lacks access to region specific integrated pest management information. Horses are susceptible to a number of different arthropod pests that feed on and around horses, leading to numerous medical conditions and undesirable behaviors, as well as arthropod-borne pathogens that can cause serious illness, injury, and even death. We propose to develop the state's first equine pest management profile to support Maine’s horse industry. Previous work in our lab has studied the distribution, pathogen prevalence, and phenology of several key equine arthropod vectors including ticks, mosquitoes, and stable flies. Preliminary results suggest that Maine has a unique pest population compared to other regions of the United States. For example, blacklegged ticks are relatively new to the state but are increasing in distribution and population density. Many horse owners are unaware of how to identify this tick, or what pathogens it can transmit to horses. Likewise, studies in our lab have demonstrated that stable flies have a different phenology in Maine compared to many other regions of the United States and should therefore be managed differently. Although this profile will focus on arthropod pests of Maine horses, this work will also be useful to the entire Northeast region because many of the same pests and pathogens found in Maine are also found across the region. There are currently no pest management profiles for the equine industry in Maine, or the Northeast, which highlights the need for a comprehensive arthropod pest management plan.