Tick-associated diseases are increasing. Since joining Connecticut
Agricultural Experiment Station in 1987,research in our laboratory
has focused on the ecology and control of the black-legged tick
Ixodes scapularis (formerly known as the deer tick, Ixodes
dammini), the tick that transmits the Lyme disease spirochete,
Borrelia burgdorferi and the etiological agents of human
babesiosis and ehrlichiosis. We have investigated the use of pesticides,
the impact of deer exclusion on tick abundance, the potential
of a parasitic wasp to control the tick, and landscape modifications
for tick control. Ecological studies on this tick have include
habitat distribution around the home, the role of birds as hosts,
oviposition by female ticks, and dispersal of the larval stage
of this tick. A new project will evaluate the potential of reducing
tick abundance by the application of small amounts of an insecticide
to the white-tailed deer, the principal host for adult deer ticks.
Dr. Stafford is a member of the Lyme Disease Awareness Task Force,
Arthritis Foundation, Connecticut Chapter and a member of the
Board of Directors of the American Veterinary Lyme Disease Society.
Prior to coming to Connecticut, Dr. Stafford worked at the Pennsylvania
State University on an integrated pest management program to suppress
flies at poultry facilities. He also taught veterinary entomology
in the Department of Entomology and College of Veterinary Medicine
at Texas A&M University. Dr. Stafford received his doctorate
at Texas A&M University, specializing in arthropods of medical
and veterinary importance, a master of science degree in entomology
at Kansas State University, and a bachelor of science degree in
entomology at Colorado State University.