Acaricidal Potential and Ecotoxicity of Metallic Nano-Pesticides Used against the Major Life Stages of Hyalomma Ticks

Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) are blood-feeding parasites capable of transmitting diseases to animals (Piroplasmosis) and humans (Congo fever, Lyme disease). The non-judicious use of chemical acaricides has led to the development of acaricide-resistant ticks, making the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases difficult. This study reports the efficacy of magnesium oxide (MgO), iron oxide (Fe₂O₃), and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles (NPs) as alternatives to traditional acaricides/pesticides using in vitro tests against major representative stages of Hyalomma ticks. Nanopesticides were chemically synthesized as rods (Fe₂O₃), stars (ZnO), and spheres (MgO) and were characterized by XRD and SEM analysis. The in vitro bioassays included adult immersion, larval immersion, and larval packet tests. Non-target effects of the nanopesticides were evaluated using snails. The LC₉₀ values of Fe₂O₃ NPs (4.21, 2.83, 0.89 mg/L) were lowest followed by MgO (4.27, 2.91, 0.93 mg/L) and ZnO (4.49, 3.05, 0.69 mg/L), for the tick adult, larval and egg stages, respectively. Fe₂O₃ NPs were capable of arresting oviposition and larval hatching in the study ticks in vitro. The snail toxicity experiments revealed minimum to mild off-target effects for all nanopesticides tested. This study is the first to report the comparative efficacy of magnesium, iron, and zinc nanomaterials for toxicity in egg, adult and larval stages of Hyalomma ticks. Further studies of NPs on establishing the efficacy against ticks and safety at host-human-environment interface could lead to promising nanopesticde applications.