Ticks are important human and animal parasites and vectors of many infectious disease agents. Control of tick activity is an effective tool to reduce the risk of contracting tick-transmitted diseases. The castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus) is the most common tick species in Europe. It is also a vector of the causative agents of Lyme borreliosis and tick-borne encephalitis, which are two of the most important arthropod-borne diseases in Europe. In recent years, increases in tick activity and incidence of tick-borne diseases have been observed in many European countries. These increases are linked to many ecological and anthropogenic factors such as landscape management, climate change, animal migration, and increased popularity of outdoor activities or changes in land usage. Tick activity is driven by many biotic and abiotic factors, some of which can be effectively managed to decrease risk of tick bites. In the USA, recommendations for landscape management, tick host control, and tick chemical control are well-defined for the applied purpose of reducing tick presence on private property. In Europe, where fewer studies have assessed tick management strategies, the similarity in ecological factors influencing vector presence suggests that approaches that work in USA may also be applicable. In this article we review key factors driving the tick exposure risk in Europe to select those most conducive to management for decreased tick-associated risk.

• Keywords
• Ixodes ricinus, tick, tick management, tick-borne diseases,
• MeSH
• Risk Assessment MeSH
• Ixodes * pathogenicity   MeSH
• Encephalitis, Tick-Borne * therapy   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Lyme Disease * therapy   MeSH
• Tick-Borne Diseases * therapy   MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Geographicals
• Europe MeSH

Aphids are an important agricultural pest that not only damage plants by suction, but can also transmit a number of economically important plant viruses. Protection against aphids is based on the use of synthetic insecticides. However, these products can be dangerous for non-target organisms. Therefore, it is important to develop new, environmentally safe plant protection methods.In this study, we have tested an essential oil (EO) obtained from Foeniculum vulgare for the mortality of Myzus persicae, an important polyphagous pest, its natural predator Harmonia axyridis, and Eisenia fetida as a representative of soil organisms. The EO, with its major compounds trans-anethole (67.9%) and fenchone (25.5%), was found to provide excellent efficacy against M. persicae (LC50 = 0.6 and LC90 = 2.4 mL L-1) while not causing any significant mortality of the tested non-target organisms. On the contrary, application of an insecticide based on the active substance alpha-cypermethrin not only caused mortality in the aphids, but also had a fatal negative effect on both the non-target organisms we tested, resulting in their high mortality.Our results indicate very high prospects for using the essential oil from F. vulgare in the development of environmentally safe botanical insecticides designed for plant protection against aphids.

• Keywords
• Botanical insecticides, Eisenia fetida, Essential oils, Harmonia axyridis, No-target organisms,
• MeSH
• Coleoptera drug effects   growth & development   MeSH
• Insect Control * MeSH
• Foeniculum chemistry   MeSH
• Insecticides * toxicity   MeSH
• Larva drug effects   growth & development   MeSH
• Aphids * growth & development   MeSH
• Oils, Volatile * toxicity   MeSH
• Oligochaeta drug effects   MeSH
• Food Chain MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Insecticides * MeSH
• Oils, Volatile * MeSH

The rapid spread of highly aggressive arboviruses, parasites, and bacteria along with the development of resistance in the pathogens and parasites, as well as in their arthropod vectors, represents a huge challenge in modern parasitology and tropical medicine. Eco-friendly vector control programs are crucial to fight, besides malaria, the spread of dengue, West Nile, chikungunya, and Zika virus, as well as other arboviruses such as St. Louis encephalitis and Japanese encephalitis. However, research efforts on the control of mosquito vectors are experiencing a serious lack of eco-friendly and highly effective pesticides, as well as the limited success of most biocontrol tools currently applied. Most importantly, a cooperative interface between the two disciplines is still lacking. To face this challenge, we have reviewed a wide number of promising results in the field of green-fabricated pesticides tested against mosquito vectors, outlining several examples of synergy with classic biological control tools. The non-target effects of green-fabricated nanopesticides, including acute toxicity, genotoxicity, and impact on behavioral traits of mosquito predators, have been critically discussed. In the final section, we have identified several key challenges at the interface between "green" nanotechnology and classic biological control, which deserve further research attention.

• Keywords
• Arbovirus, Biosafety, Dengue, Genotoxicity, Japanese encephalitis, Malaria, Nanosynthesis, West Nile virus, Zika virus,
• MeSH
• Dengue MeSH
• Insect Vectors drug effects   MeSH
• Zika Virus Infection microbiology   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Malaria MeSH
• Mosquito Control * methods   MeSH
• One Health MeSH
• Zika Virus MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH