Why can’t we just use Maxforce bait boxes to kill ticks on mice?
The Max Force mouse bait boxes have been discontinued by the manufacturer. However, even when available, they only protected areas around homes that could afford the system. The White footed mouse is just one of several small animal hosts that infect the larval stage of the deer tick with the Lyme bacteria. Other animals that perform the same role are shrews, chipmunks, voles and many small birds. The boxes were intended to kill ticks on mice that went inside the box. The birds and shrews cannot be treated by the bait boxes (shrews burrow and eat live worms and grubs, not the bait) and therefore many ticks will still become infected even if all the mice in CT were treated. The bait boxes are only placed around homes (by a licensed professional service twice a year) and do not treat mice out in the woods, so Lyme can still be picked up away from home. Treating ticks on mice does not, of course, stop deer from eating the woodlands or causing traffic accidents.
