Capital cities In Vingo Park the innovation presented today is tick traps. This method is used when killing ticks with insecticides is prohibited or impossible: in regularly visited parks, kindergartens, yards where pets are walked. Reducing the population of ticks with traps is an ecological and completely safe method for people, nature and animals.
"The statistics of tick-borne encephalitis in Lithuania is one of the worst in Europe. And there is no more effective way of getting rid of this disease than vaccines. Since vaccination is voluntary, Vilnius city municipality looking for other ways to help prevent this menacing disease. In addition to vaccination promotion and an information campaign, we want to test tick traps in city parks. This is a way to catch the population of ticks in the local area, which is still little known to us. We are currently starting to test its effectiveness and safety in Vingios Park. If the experiment is successful, we plan to install such traps in 17 city parks," says the vice mayor Valdas Benkunskas.
Vilnius Municipality has already installed about 20 information signs in Jamonto, Vingis, Lūžių, Pasakų parks, where you can find information about places where ticks bite, as well as a reminder that vaccinations are the most effective measure against tick-borne encephalitis.
Dainius Žilius, head of the Forest Department of UAB "Stebulė", the company supporting the trap testing project, hopes that the support for this useful and meaningful initiative will bring results and that the traps will work.
"The traps installed in Vingios Park today work very simply: the tick does not have eyes, but senses its "victim" with the so-called Haller's organ, which reacts to the carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted during respiration. By simulating a large source of carbon dioxide, with the help of Biogon dry ice pellets, the mites are "lured" to the trap, where they stick to a special adhesive base. After ticks are collected from the sticky base, the traps are moved to another area," explained Valerijus Sidorčuk, manager of Zoo Alliance UAB, which installed the traps.
Such tick traps should be left for at least a day. This unique method of catching ticks does not guarantee a 100% result, but it provides short-term protection of the lawn or area.
