Medical and Veterinary Entomology (2010) 24, 9–15

Toxicity of plant essential oils to different life stages

of the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae,
and non-target invertebrates
1 1 2 1
D. R. G E O R G E , O. A. E. S P A R A G A N O , G. P O R T , E. O K E L L O ,
1 1
R. S. S H I E L and J. H. G U Y
1 Faculty
of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University,
Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. and 2 Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering, School of Biology, Newcastle University,
Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.

Abstract. Seven essential oils with potential as acaricides for use against the poultry
red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer) (Acari: Dermanyssidae), were selected for
study. These products (essential oils of manuka, cade, pennyroyal, thyme, garlic, clove
bud and cinnamon bark) were deployed against different life stages of D. gallinae
in laboratory tests at the (lethal concentration) LC50 level for adult mites. For all
essential oils tested, toxicity to D. gallinae juveniles was as high as toxicity to adults,
if not higher. However, at the LC50 level determined for adults, some oils were
ineffective in preventing hatching of D. gallinae eggs. The essential oils were also
tested under laboratory conditions at their LC90 levels for D. gallinae adults on two
model non-target species, the brine shrimp, Artemia salina (L.), and the mealworm
beetle, Tenebrio molitor (L.). Results showed that not all essential oils were as toxic
to A. salina and T. molitor as they were to D. gallinae, suggesting that it may be
possible to select certain oils for development as acaricides against D. gallinae that
would have minimal impact on non-target organisms. However, the level of toxicity
to A. salina and T. molitor was not consistent across the selected essential oils.
Key words. Dermanyssus gallinae, acaricide, brine shrimp, essential oil, mealworm
beetle, toxicity.

Introduction
The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer), is
the most economically deleterious parasite of laying hens in
Europe (Chauve, 1998). Feeding mites can cause cannibalistic
feather pecking (Kilpinen, 1999), irritation, restlessness and
either mild or severe anaemia in hens, occasionally resulting
in death (Wojcik et al., 2000; Cosoroaba, 2001). In a study
of a caged housing system, mortality of birds rose from
1% to 4% as a result of parasitism by D. gallinae and egg
production was reduced by 10% (Wojcik et al., 2000). Even
higher death rates and production losses have been reported
elsewhere (Cosoroaba, 2001). Production is affected through
reduced development rates of growing hens, reduced egg
production and reduced egg quality (poor shell integrity and
blood-staining of the shell surface) (Urquhart et al., 1996;
Chauve, 1998; Fiddes et al., 2005). Dermanyssus gallinae is
also a threat in the spread of disease as it may act as a
vector for a number of pathogenic poultry infections (Chirico
et al., 2003), both bacterial and viral. Such pathogens include
St Louis encephalitis (Smith et al., 1946), avian spirochetes,
chicken pox, eastern equine encephalitis (Kim et al., 2004),
Newcastle disease, fowl typhoid, cholera (Kim et al., 2007)
and salmonella (Valiente Moro et al., 2007).
Dermanyssus gallinae is seen most frequently in systems
for laying hens, where research has shown that in the U.K.
between 60% (Fiddes et al., 2005) and 85% (Guy et al.,
2004) of premises may be infected and mite populations

Correspondence: Dr David George, School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU,
U.K. Tel.: + 44 191 222 8893; Fax: + 44 191 222 6720; E-mail: D.R.George@ncl.ac.uk

© 2010 The Authors

Journal compilation © 2010 The Royal Entomological Society 9
10 D. R. George et al.

are typically higher in free-range systems than in cage units (Axtell, 1999), T. molitor may nevertheless play a role in waste
(Guy et al., 2004; Fiddes et al., 2005; Arkle et al., 2006). decomposition and aeration of litter and is a simple species to
Nevertheless, research has suggested that D. gallinae may culture en masse for toxicity testing.
obtain its bloodmeals from a range of alternative hosts, Thus, the aims of this study were to: (a) evaluate the efficacy
including horses (Mignon & Losson, 2008), rodents (Lucky of essential oils previously found to be effective adulticides
et al., 2001) and man (Bruneau et al., 2001), where these for D. gallinae as acaricides for mites of different life stages,
mites have recently been linked to dermatological disorders and (b) assess the toxicity of these products to A. salina and
such as pseudoscabies (Cafiero et al., 2008). Effective means T. molitor as model non-target invertebrates.
of controlling this pest may thus be of importance in several
areas of pest management.
The most common form of control of D. gallinae involves Materials and methods
the application of pesticides. However, the number of effec-
tive pesticides registered for application in poultry houses is Selection of plant essential oils
relatively low for a number of reasons, including develop-
ment of mite resistance (Beugnet et al., 1997; Kim et al., 2004; The essential oils of manuka, cade, pennyroyal, thyme,
Fiddes et al., 2005), chemical residues in food and undesirable garlic, clove bud and cinnamon bark were found to be the most
environmental effects (Dalton & Mulcahy, 2001). In addition, toxic to D. gallinae out of an initial selection of 50 in previous
D. gallinae’s tendency to occupy small cracks and crevices in work (George et al., 2010). These seven essential oils were
the poultry house, ability to survive for extended periods with- therefore used in the current experiments and were sourced
out taking a bloodmeal (Axtell, 1999), prolific reproductive from New Directions U.K. (Southampton, U.K.). Details of
capacity and short lifecycle make eradication very challeng- these oils are provided in Table 1. All experiments, unless
ing (Kilpinen, 2001). With increasing D. gallinae resistance to otherwise stated, were conducted in an environment-controlled
synthetic acaricides and changes in legislation and production growth room at 22◦ C under a 16:8 h light : dark (L : D) regime
practices that will see a move away from conventional cage at Newcastle University, U.K.
rearing in coming years (in the EU at least), it is likely that
in the future many more of the world’s 2.8 billion laying hens Procurement of test organisms
(11.7% of which are located in the EU) (Axtell, 1999) will
suffer as a result of D. gallinae infestation if alternatives to Dermanyssus gallinae specimens were collected on a weekly
synthetic acaricides are not sought. basis from a commercial free-range unit in Northumberland,
Several authors have investigated the use of plant-derived U.K., and stored in sealed plastic bags in the growth room.
products in pest management and reviews are already available Mites were used in tests within 6 days of collection.
from agricultural (Isman, 2000, 2006) and veterinary (George Artemia salina were purchased as cysts from Blades
et al., 2009a) perspectives. Furthermore, both Kim et al. (2004, Biological Ltd. (Cowden, U.K.) and stored at 4◦ C in darkness.
2007) and George et al. (2010) have investigated the use of As required, cysts were hatched by immersion in 1.5 L of
plant essential oils as acaricides for adult D. gallinae, with 2.5% marine salt in dechlorinated tap water. To encourage
promising results. Numerous essential oils, including those of hatching, cysts were kept under constant illumination from a
cade, clove bud, lavender, pennyroyal, tea tree and thyme,
have been shown by both author groups to be relatively highly
Table 1. Nomenclature, origin and previously determined Dermanys-
toxic to D. gallinae in laboratory screening tests. Kim et al.
sus gallinae (lethal concentration) LC50 and LC90 values [converted
(2004, 2007) have also conducted experiments into the mode
from LD (lethal dose) values given by George et al., 2010] of selected
of toxicity and George et al. (2010) have investigated the essential oils used in toxicity tests.
environmental stability of selected essential oils. Nevertheless,
there is a need to test these essential oils for their toxicity LD50 ; LC90 for
to different D. gallinae life stages and non-target organisms Essential oil Latin name Origin D. gallinae, mg/cm3
before any specific recommendations can be made as to which
Manuka Leptospermum New Zealand 0.02; 0.05
oils can be taken forward as potential acaricides for D. gallinae
scoparium
in the context of commercial egg production. Toxicity testing Forst.
of products using the brine shrimp, Artemia salina L., lethality Cade Juniperus France 0.01; 0.03
assay has been conducted for many years for the detection oxycedrus L.
and evaluation of, for example, fungal toxins, heavy metals, Pennyroyal Mentha France 0.06; 0.11
pesticides and plant extracts (Carballo et al., 2002). Toxicity pulegium L.
to A. salina is also considered as a good indicator of Thyme Thymus France 0.01; 0.05
general toxicity, including that to humans (Carballo et al., vulgaris L.
2002), making this assay a useful tool in the preliminary Garlic Allium sativum L. Mexico 0.07; 0.13
toxicity analysis of numerous products. The mealworm beetle, Clove bud Eugenia Madagascar 0.07; 0.13
caryphyllata L.
Tenebrio molitor L., is one of several species of Coleoptera
Cinnamon Cinnamomum France 0.05; 0.12
commonly associated with poultry production. Although it
bark zeylanicum
is not considered as ‘beneficial’ to poultry producers as Breyn.
the predaceous histerid beetle, Carcinops pumilio (Erichson),
© 2010 The Authors
Journal compilation © 2010 The Royal Entomological Society, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 24, 9–15
 Essential oil toxicity to Dermanyssus gallinae and non-target species
60-W bulb, aerated continuously (at a rate of 2 L air/min)
and held at 26◦ C. Nauplii (stage I and II) were used within
48 h of hatching. Cysts were hatched in a plastic container
(2-L Brine Shrimp/Rotifer Hatcher; Atlantis Aquatics, Great
Yarmouth, U.K.) at a density of 1.3 g/L. In order to obtain
nauplii for use in the experiment, aeration was switched off
in the hatching tank and the light source moved to the tank
base. Empty cysts then floated to the surface of the tank and
phototactic nauplii gathered at the base of the tank, from which
they were decanted into a beaker. A dropping pipette was then
used to move nauplii between the beaker and test tubes in
which the toxicity test was conducted.
Tenebrio molitor were purchased as larvae from Blades
Biological Ltd. These were then cultured on a diet of bran and
potato slices in the growth room. Pupae were removed and
stored under the same conditions. Following eclosion, adult
beetles were moved to ‘ageing tanks’, where they were cultured
under the same conditions and on the same diet as larvae until
1–2 weeks old. At this stage adult beetles of both sexes were
used in experiments.
Experiment 1. The toxicity of essential oils to different life
stages of Dermanyssus gallinae
For toxicity testing with adults and juveniles of D. gallinae,
essential oils were used to treat filter papers (Whatman No.
2, 4.25 cm diameter) at the (lethal concentration) LC50 (in
mg/cm3 ) for each oil as previously determined by George
et al. (2010) (in 50 μL ethanol; control filter papers were
impregnated with 50 μL ethanol only). Filter papers were
prepared and then dried in a fume cupboard for 3 min
prior to use. They were then sealed within Petri dishes
with approximately 23 D. gallinae juveniles or adults. Tests
were performed simultaneously to assess the toxicity of the
essential oils to D. gallinae adults and juveniles that had
been reared from adults whilst in storage. All juveniles were
either at the larval stage or first nymphal instar when used in
experiments. Toxicity of essential oils was determined after
24 h, at which time mites were considered dead if they
exhibited no movement under magnification (× 4) following
repeated agitation with an entomological pin. Four replicates
were performed for each treatment.
The percentage mortality of D. gallinae was calculated for
each essential oil and the control, and mortalities between
treatments for each oil, and between individual oils and the
control, were then compared using a two-way analysis of
variance (anova) with Tukey’s tests. Data did not require
transformation prior to analysis to fit the assumptions of the
test. Analyses of these and subsequent data were performed
using minitab Version 14 (Minitab, Inc., State College,
PA, U.S.A.).
For toxicity testing with D. gallinae eggs, essential oils were
again used to impregnate filter papers as above. Filter papers
were prepared, dried in a fume cupboard and sealed within
Petri dishes with approximately 20 D. gallinae eggs that had
been laid by adults whilst in storage. All eggs were 0–48 h old
when used in experiments. The toxicity of essential oils was
determined after 96 h under the same conditions as in previous
experiments. After this time eggs were recorded as hatched or
© 2010 The Authors
Journal compilation © 2010 The Royal Entomological Society, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 24, 9–15
11
un-hatched under magnification (× 10). Four replicates were
carried out for each treatment.
The percentage mortality of D. gallinae eggs (where eggs
were assumed dead if not hatched) was calculated for each
essential oil and the control. Data were subjected to a one-way
anova with Tukey’s tests. Data did not require transformation
prior to analysis to fit the assumptions of the test. One of
the data points in the results for pennyroyal essential oil was
removed from the analysis because it was considered a rank
outsider.
Experiment 2. Screening for toxicity to A. salina
and T. molitor
The seven selected essential oils were tested against
A. salina and T. molitor at their LC90 value (mg/mL and
mg/cm3 , respectively) for D. gallinae, as determined from
earlier work (Table 1). Four replicates were run simultaneously
for each species and essential oil treatment.
For A. salina, approximately 25 nauplii were exposed
to essential oils in capped 10-mL glass test tubes (Fisher
Scientific, Loughborough, U.K.) for 24 h at 22◦ C under
constant illumination from a 60-W bulb. Each test tube
contained the necessary amount of essential oil dissolved in
5 mL 2.5% marine salt in dechlorinated and degassed tap
water. Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) was used as a solvent,
where a stock solution of essential oil in 5 mL DMSO was
first prepared such that 0.5 mL of this solution was added
to 4.5 mL of salt solution in each test tube. Control test
tubes contained 2.5% salt solution plus 0.5 mL DMSO only.
Water was degassed by nitrogen bubbling for 1 min. After 24
h, nauplii were assessed for mortality by observation under
magnification (× 10). Nauplii were considered dead if no
movement was seen after agitation with an entomological pin.
For T. molitor, 15 adult beetles were exposed to essential
oils in sealed glass vessels (1400 mL) for 24 h. Each vessel
contained two filter papers (Whatman No. 2, 110 mm diameter,
presented back-to-back) onto which the necessary amount
of essential oil, made up to 2 mL in ethanol, had been
added. Filter papers were dried in a fume cupboard for 3 min
after impregnation with oil/ethanol before being added to the
vessels. Control filter papers received 2 mL ethanol only.
After 24 h, beetles were assessed for mortality by observation
under magnification (× 4). Beetles were considered dead
if no movement was seen after repeated agitation with an
entomological pin.
The percentage mortality was compared between essential
oil treatments and test species by a two-way anova with
corresponding Tukey’s tests. Data were arcsine square-root
transformed prior to analysis.
Results
Experiment 1. The toxicity of essential oils to different life
stages of D. gallinae
There was a significant difference in the toxicity of essential
oils to D. gallinae juveniles and adults overall (F(1,48) =
46.54, P < 0.001). Juvenile mortality was significantly higher
12 D. R. George et al.
(P < 0.05) than adult mortality following exposure to cade,
clove bud and garlic essential oils. There was no significant
interaction between essential oil and mite life stage (F(7,48) =
1.79, P = 0.111), although there was a significant difference in
the overall toxicity of the different essential oils to D. gallinae
(F(7,48) = 115.57, P < 0.01) (Fig. 1).
There were significant differences in the toxicities of differ-
ent essential oils to D. gallinae eggs (F(7,23) = 205.65, P <
0.001). Increased ovicidal activity (P < 0.05) was observed
when eggs were exposed to pennyroyal, garlic or cinnamon
bark oils compared with all other treatments. There was no
significant difference in egg mortality between the control
treatment and treatments with manuka, cade, thyme or clove
bud essential oils (Fig. 2).
Experiment 2. Screening for toxicity to A. salina
and T. molitor
Significantly more A. salina were killed overall following
exposure to essential oil treatments than were T. molitor
(F(1,48) = 20.11, P < 0.001). There was also a significant
Journal compilation © 2010 The Royal Entomological Society, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 24, 9–15
effect of essential oil treatment on the data (F(7,48) = 43.88,
P < 0.001). All oils were found to be more toxic overall
than the control. There was a significant interaction between
essential oil treatment and test species (F(7,48) = 50.48, P <
0.001), suggesting that A. salina and T. molitor did not
respond to essential oil treatments in the same way. Differences
between pairs of means are shown in Fig. 3.
Discussion
The results of Experiment 1 suggest that essential oils that
are effective acaricides for adult D. gallinae are also toxic
to juveniles of this species. An ability to kill all stages of
D. gallinae may be an important attribute for an effective
acaricide based on essential oils, as the residual toxicity of
these products to D. gallinae may be low. For example, George
et al. (2008) found that when filter papers (as used in toxicity
tests in the current work) were placed in Petri dishes with
mites immediately after impregnation with any one of six
different lavender essential oils, the mortality of D. gallinae
over 24 h ranged from 66% to 90%, depending upon the
Fig. 1. Acaricidal activity of selected essential
oils against Dermanyssus gallinae juveniles and
adults at the adult LC50 mg oil/cm3 for each oil.
Non-significant differences (P < 0.05) between
essential oil treatments for overall toxicity to
both life stages apply to oils sharing a letter.
All means are displayed with ± standard errors
derived from original data; n = 4 for all means.
Fig. 2. Ovicidal activity of selected essential
oils against Dermanyssus gallinae at the adult
LC50 mg oil/cm3 for each oil. All means
are displayed with ± standard errors derived
from original data; n = 4 for all means, except
pennyroyal, for which n = 3.
© 2010 The Authors
 Essential oil toxicity to Dermanyssus gallinae and non-target species
lavender essential oil used. If, however, the impregnated filter
papers were left in a fume cupboard for 24 h prior to use,
mortality rates of D. gallinae fell to ≤11% for the same
essential oils. It can therefore be expected that if essential oil-
based products fail to kill juvenile mites, they will not remain
toxic for a sufficiently long period to affect these mites once
they have matured into adults. Therefore, it is also important
that any recommended essential oil is able to kill developing
mites inside the egg because this development is known to
take several days (Chauve, 1998). Should essential oils not
be capable of killing all mite stages, the rapid lifecycle of
D. gallinae that contributes to its high pest status (Kilpinen,
2001) will ensure that adult populations are quickly re-
established unless repeat oil applications are made. The current
work suggests that some essential oils may be as ovicidal
as they are adulticidal, although the results of Experiment 1
suggest that this trend cannot be assumed for all essential oils.
The mortalities of D. gallinae adults in Experiment 1 varied
between 89% (after exposure to manuka essential oil) and 20%
(after exposure to cade essential oil). As all essential oils were
used at their previously determined LC50 level to D. gallinae
adults, mortality rates nearer to 50% might have been expected.
Only for cinnamon bark essential oil did mortality fall within
10% of this figure, perhaps suggesting variation in the toxicity
of oils between the current work and experiments conducted
by George et al. (2010) on which the (lethal dose) LD50 values
used were based. Although we did not investigate this further
in the current study, this variation has been addressed by the
authors elsewhere in related work (George et al., 2009b).
Variation in essential oil chemistry (and thus, presumably,
toxicity) according to numerous biotic and abiotic factors has
also been reported in the literature (Chalchat et al., 2007;
Moreno et al., 2007) and has been identified as an issue that
may need to be addressed if such products are to be reliably
used in pest management (Isman, 2008).
The seven essential oils that were used in the experiments
described have been previously shown to be relatively highly
toxic to D. gallinae (George et al., 2010). Essential oils may
be attractive as acaricides because the vast majority are known
© 2010 The Authors
Journal compilation © 2010 The Royal Entomological Society, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 24, 9–15
13
Fig. 3. Toxicity of selected essential oils to
Artemia salina and Tenebrio molitor at LC90
(mg oil/cm3 ) for adult Dermanyssus gallinae.
Non-significant differences (P < 0.05) between
pairs of means for essential oil × species
combinations apply to bars sharing a lower-case
letter. Non-significant differences (P < 0.05)
between pairs of means for overall mortalities
for any given essential oil apply to treatments
sharing an upper-case letter. All means are
displayed with ± standard errors derived from
original data; n = 4 for all means.
to have extremely low mammalian toxicities, unlike many
of the available synthetic alternatives (Isman, 2000, 2006).
However, the toxicity of such products to invertebrates may
be broad spectrum as research has suggested that several
essential oil constituents work to disrupt the binding of
invertebrate nerve cord proteins, specifically 3 H-octopamine
in the American cockroach Periplaneta americana (L.) (Enan
et al., 1998). As such, any product causing high levels of
mortality in D. gallinae might be expected to do likewise for
A. salina and/or T. molitor, which also possess invertebrate-
specific octopaminergic nervous systems. Vertebrates do not
possess octopaminergic nervous systems and this may account
for the low mammalian toxicity of essential oils.
With this in mind, we might have expected that the essential
oils tested in the present study would show the same levels
of toxicity to A. salina and T. molitor and that this toxicity
would be related to the effect these oils had on D. gallinae in
previous work. However, as the results of Experiment 2 show,
this appeared not to be the case. For A. salina, several of the
essential oils used gave lower mortality rates than expected,
and cinnamon bark and pennyroyal essential oils had no effect
on shrimp mortality at levels that were previously found to
result in 90% mortality in D. gallinae (George et al., 2010).
The same was true of cade and manuka essential oils when
tested against T. molitor at this level. Interestingly, there was
also a high level of inconsistency in the toxic effects of the oils
between the two non-target test species. In fact, for all essential
oil treatments except garlic (for which mortality rates in both
species were notably high), significant differences between the
responses of A. salina and T. molitor following exposure were
reported. These results suggest that there is both inter-species
variation in the susceptibility of the test organisms to certain
essential oils and variation within given species in terms of
the toxicity of different essential oils. Support for interspecific
variation in the susceptibility of invertebrates to essential oils
and their constituents is provided elsewhere in the literature.
For example, Isman (2000) summarized toxicity tests in which
variation was apparent with monoterpenes and monoterpenoid
14 D. R. George et al.
phenols against a range of insect pests, as well as the two-
spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Koch).
On the one hand, the variation seen in the toxicity of selected
essential oils to A. salina and T. molitor is favourable to the
development of these products as acaricides for use against
D. gallinae. Such variation suggests that essential oils could
be selected for use according to their toxicity to different
D. gallinae life stages and their minimal effect on non-
target organisms if employed as acaricides in poultry systems.
However, the results obtained also show that the toxic effects
of the selected essential oils were not consistent across the
non-target organisms studied. This may reflect the varying
sensitivities and/or biologies of the test organisms studied.
Although the brine shrimp toxicity test is commonly
employed as an initial ‘rapid’ screening test for numerous
potential toxins (Carballo et al., 2002), including those of plant
origin (Déciga-Campos et al., 2007), the sensitivity of this
method was found to differ by one or more orders of mag-
nitude from certain ‘standard’ acute toxicity tests using water
fleas, mysid shrimp, algae and the fathead minnow (Toussaint
et al., 1995). Nevertheless, the practice of extrapolating results
from A. salina to other organisms, including mammals, is
not uncommon (Carballo et al., 2002). Reviews of the sub-
ject area suggest that considering a battery of invertebrate
test results may be more effective for obtaining an indica-
tion of toxicity to humans and highlight the problems inherent
with such extrapolation that result from the huge differences
in physiology between invertebrates and vertebrates (Lagadic
& Caquet, 1998). As essential oils may even exert a toxic
effect on invertebrate-specific proteins, such extrapolation may
be complicated further when dealing with these products and
alternative screening tests using vertebrates (such as the fat-
head minnow) may be more appropriate. Similarly, T. molitor
is not regarded as a typical invertebrate for use in toxicity
testing, although its use in the current study was warranted
by its widespread occurrence in poultry systems. It is possible
that testing with more standard terrestrial invertebrate species,
such as the earthworm, may provide a more sensitive method
of determining which essential oils are likely to have a mini-
mal impact on other non-target invertebrates found in poultry
systems.
The variation seen in toxicity to the non-target organisms
studied suggests that although it may be possible to select
essential oils for D. gallinae control that are minimally toxic to
certain non-target invertebrates, this may not imply that such
products will be non-toxic to others. However, this may not
pose too much of a problem when developing essential oils for
use against D. gallinae because the non-target organisms that
might be considered as genuinely ‘beneficial’ and thus worthy
of conserving when treating for D. gallinae are likely to be
limited within the confines of a poultry unit. Such species may
include C. pumilio and several predatory mite species (Axtell,
1999), but conserving even these species is likely to be of
secondary concern to the industry compared with efficiently
controlling D. gallinae populations. It may even be the
case that with this interspecific variability in toxicity, certain
essential oils could be selected for use against D. gallinae
that not only conserve populations of these beneficial species,
but also reduce populations of other pest invertebrates present
Journal compilation © 2010 The Royal Entomological Society, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, 24, 9–15
in the poultry system. Mites (including species other than
D. gallinae), lice, bedbugs, fleas, ticks and various species of
Diptera may serve as pests to varying degrees in these systems
(Axtell, 1999) and research suggests that certain plant products,
including essential oils and their constituents, can be used as
pesticides or repellents for many such species (George et al.,
2009a). As Isman (2000) observes, it may even be possible
to identify individual essential oil components and blend these
to achieve a desired spectrum of activity. This could provide
more species-specific pest management products if using whole
essential oils (which can contain numerous biocidal chemical
constituents) as pesticides while trying to conserve beneficials
proves too problematic in practice.
In conclusion, the results have shown that plant essential
oils may make effective larvicides, nymphicides and ovicides
for D. gallinae. However, although all essential oils led to
high mortality of juveniles, they did not cause the same
level of egg mortality. Similarly, although some oils were
relatively harmless to the non-target invertebrates studied, this
was not the case for all oils and variations in the responses of
these organisms were apparent. Therefore, care must be taken
when selecting the appropriate essential oils for development
as acaricides for D. gallinae if these are to be optimally
efficacious against all life stages of this pest whilst having a
minimal impact on non-target invertebrate species. The results
presented nevertheless suggest that this may be achievable.
Acknowledgements
This work was carried out as part of the MITEeHEN
project to develop alternative, plant-based acaricides to control
Dermanyssus gallinae, for which funding from the Department
of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, U.K., is gratefully
acknowledged. The authors are also grateful to representatives
of the U.K. poultry industry, including the British Free Range
Egg Producers Association (BFREPA), the National Farmers
Union (NFU) and Noble Foods Ltd., Tring, U.K., for providing
technical advice on the development of alternative control
strategies for D. gallinae.
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Accepted 13 February 2009