Assessment of the potential of a laser-based device as a Rhipicephalus microplus motility inhibitor

Abstract Rhipicephalus microplus is an ectoparasite responsible for causing economic losses in livestock farming totalling approximately $3.24 billion dollars per year. The main control method involves the use of chemical acaricides. However, the incorrect and intensive use of these chemicals has led to an increasing number of reports of resistance to acaricides. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a laser prototype with a voltage of 5 V and power of 1000 mW to reduce the development of R. microplus. The methodology evaluated did not result in a high mortality rate; therefore, it was necessary to carry out a larval migration test. To carry out the test, 3 treatments were evaluated in triplicate (negative controls H20, 60% ethanol and positive control), with 20 larvae were evaluated for each replicate of the treatments, which resulted in an increase in the percentage of migration from 2.5% and 3.2% to above 94.9% and 93.5% in the negative controls, while in the positive control group there was no showed a significant change in migration, reaching close to 100%. This study demonstrated that physical control caused damage to ectoparasite locomotor structures and could affect the parasite's life cycle.