The repellency and toxicity effects of essential oils from the Libyan plants Salvadora persica and Rosmarinus officinalis against nymphs of Ixodes ricinus

Essential oils extracted from the leaves of Libyan Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), and Miswak (Salvadora persica L.) were evaluated for their acaricidal and repellent effects on Ixodes ricinus L. nymphs (Acari: Ixodidae) using a bioassay based on an open filter paper method'. Rosmarinus officinalis leaf essential oil diluted to 0.5 and 1 mu l/cm(2) in acetone exhibited, respectively, 20 and 100% tick mortality after about 5h of exposure. A total of 50 and 95% of I. ricinus nymphs were killed by direct contact with the oil when exposed to lethal concentrations (LC)of 0.7 mu l/cm(2) (LC50) and 0.95 mu l/cm(2) (LC95), respectively. The LC50 (0.5 mu l/cm(2)) was reached before the end of the first 24h of exposure time (ET), as tick mortality at 24h was 60%. Salvadora persica leaf essential oil at 1 mu l/cm(2) showed a significant repellency effect against I. ricinus nymphs at 1.5h ET. A 95% repellency was observed at a repellent concentration (RC95) of 1 mu l/cm(2) of S. persica, but no significant mortality was recorded at this dose of S. persica oil. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses showed that the main monoterpenes in both oils were 1,8-cineol, -pinene, and -pinene, although in markedly different proportions. These results suggest that essential oils have substantial potential as alternative approaches for I. ricinus tick control.