This invention relates to a device and method for controlling pests in animals, especially livestock and poultry.

A longstanding problem that has plagued the livestock and poultry industries is the existence of ectoparasitic and disease-carrying pests such as face flies, stable flies, horn flies, Gulf Coast ticks, Spinose ear ticks, fleas, mites, chiggers, and screw worms. Other types of pests, namely predators such as coyotes, foxes, cougars, bobcats, etc., have been troublesome as well. Numerous attempts have been made to control such pests, but all have practical or economic disadvantages. For example, sprays, dusts and dips have been used for some time with varying degrees of success, but application is often labor intensive and protection is usually of short duration.

Livestock eartags comprising a composite polymer with pesticide or repellent dispersed thereon or therein are known. See, for example, U.S. Patent Nos. 3,756,200, 3,942,480, 3,949,708, 4,059,074, and 4,195,075. However, such devices suffer from various disadvantages, such as not being reusable; of having a release rate which is nonzero order or declining over time, nonadjustable and of relatively short duration; of insufficient tensile and ductile strength which contributes to brittleness, thus causing loss through breakage; and, in some cases, toxicity to the livestock. Further, nonzero order or a declining rate of release over time is wasteful and often allows target insect- type pests to develop immunity to the pesticide.

Eartags with replaceable active ingredient dispensers are also known. See, for example, U.S. Patent No. 4,366,777 which discloses a dispenser comprising a strip of polymeric tape with either an active-ingredient-soaked wick or an active-ingredient- impregnated polymeric layer attached thereto, the strip capable of encircling the neck portion of an eartag and either adhering to itself by pressure-sensitive adhesive or threading through itself in the same manner as a garbage-bag-style tie. The wick may be a fibrous sleave soaked by a crushable ampoule containing the active ingredient. However, such dispensers suffer from some of the same drawbacks as other prior art attempts at pest control, i.e., having a release rate which is nonzero order, nonadjustable, and of relatively short duration.

There is therefore a need for a pest control which is effective and inexpensive, durable, reusable, adjustable, and has a long-term zero-order release rate of pesticide or repellent. These needs and others have been met by the novel device and method of the present invention, which are summarized and particularly described below.

There are two aspects to the present invention. One comprises a device for the control of pests in animals, especially livestock and poultry, the device comprising (1) a durable attachment element suitable for attachment either directly to or in close proximity with the animal's body, and (2) a replaceable controlled-release dispenser element, the dispenser element comprising (a) a porous reservoir having interconnected pores with pesticide or repellent dispersed and retained therein by capillary forces, and (b) a rate-controlling membrane capable of releasing the pesticide or repellent therethrough by diffusion.

The other aspect of the present invention comprises a method for controlling pests in animals, the method comprising dispensing, at a zero-order pesticidally- or repellent-effective rate of release essentially all of a pesticide or repellent contained in a porous reservoir having interconnected pores, the dispensation being accomplished by attaching, either directly or in close proximity to the animal's body, a controlled-release dispenser of the above description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

• FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway schematic view in plan of an exemplary combination tag/controlled- release dispenser of the present invention.
• FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the same device shown in FIG. 1.
• FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway schematic view in plan of another exemplary device of the present invention with a removable or replaceable controlled-release dispenser insert.
• FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the same device shown in FIG. 3.
• FIG. 5 is an electron microscope photograph of a cross section of the interconnected pores of the reservoir material of the controlled-release dispenser element of the device of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As mentioned above, the device of the present invention comprises an attachment element and a controlled-release dispenser element.

The attachment element may be in any suitable form known in the art for attaching either directly to some part of the animal's body or to commonly-used animal equipment such as collars, halters, saddles, etc. For example, it may be a tag or band attachable directly to the animal's body by crimping, as in the case of a cattle tail tag or a poultry legband; by barbed spikes or rivet-punching, as in the case of a livestock eartag; by weaving into the animal's hair, for example, in the mane or tail of a horse; by a ring; by a buckle, as in the case of a pet collar; or by looping and snapping. It may be attached to equipment by any of the same methods or combinations thereof, the only constraint being that the method of attachment not interfere with the release of active ingredient.

The tag or band itself may be constructed of a suitable durable material such as metal, fabric, or high-tensile-and-ductile-strength polymers, the requirements being sufficient strength and flexibility so as to withstand weathering and the animal's day-to-day activities and attempts to remove it.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein identical numbers designate like elements, FIGS. 1 and 2 show an animal tag 1 in combination with a controlled-release dispenser 2 having a reservoir 3 with interconnected pores of the type shown in FIG. 5 and a membrane 4 capable of releasing active ingredient by diffusion at a zero-order rate of release over a period of several months to a year, or more, the membrane 4 being sealed over the reservoir 3 and at its edges over tag 1, thus also serving to hold the dispenser in place.

A similar device with a replaceable controlled-release dispenser insert is shown in FIGS. 3-4, the tag 1 having raised channels la and lb for accepting controlled-release inserts 2. With such a device there is no need to remove or replace the tag itself, which is expensive from a labor standpoint and an otherwise difficult task from the standpoint of isolating the animal and finding an appropriate place on its body for attachment.

Other means of attaching the controlled-release insert to the tag element include gluing, snap- tight fitting, riveting, and peel-off pressure-sensitive adhesive tape. The controlled-release dispenser insert may be attached to already-existing tags by any of the same means, thus avoiding the need to reattach new bands or tags.

The porous reservoir portion of the controlled-release dispenser of the present invention is -formulated preferably from porous polysulfones, nylons, polycarbonates, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinylidene fluoride, polytetrafluoroethylene, cellulose esters, regenerated cellulose, polyolefins, polyurethanes, cross-linked polyvinyl alcohols, epoxy resins, and polyvinyl chlorides having interconnected pores of the type shown in FIG. 5, the pores being appropriate in size to retain the active ingredient in liquid or solid form in the reservoir by capillary action.

The reservoir material is prepared by conventional wet casting/evaporation techniques known in the art.

The reservoir material should be such that the active ingredient is essentially insoluble in the reservoir. In the case of solid active ingredients, the solid is preferably transformed into a liquid by melting or by dissolving or dispersing in a liquid, and this liquid is retained by the porous reservoir by capillary action until it solidifies. A typical actual cross section of the reservoir material showing its interconnected pores is shown in FIG. 5, which is an electron microscope photograph of such a cross section magnified 700 times. In this manner, the only forces retaining the active ingredient in the reservoir are physical, rather than chemical forces such as would be the case if the active ingredient forces were appreciably soluble in the reservoir. In the latter case, much of the active ingredient is prevented from being released at zero-order rates.

The release rate of the active ingredient through the rate-controlling membrane can be conveniently adjusted to the desired value by techniques known in the art including varying the surface area, thickness and composition of the membrane. Exemplary materials for fabricating the polymeric membrane include polyethylene; polypropylene; polytetrafluoroethylene; ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymers; silicone rubbers; neoprene rubber; chlorinated polyethylene; polyvinyl chlorides; vinyl chloride copolymers with vinyl acetate, vinylidene chloride, ethylene, and propylene; polyethylene terephthalate; butyl rubber; epichlorohydrin rubbers; ethylene/vinyl alcohol copolymers; polystyrene/ acrylonitrile copolymers; polyamides; polyurethanes; polyesters; and the like.

The invention is particularly useful for the controlled release of liquid active ingredients. Controlled-release dispensers that contain liquids are difficult to fabricate without a solid reservoir. The use of porous reservoirs that hold the active ingredient by capillary action thus enables easy fabrication of dispensers of liquid active ingredients. Exemplary pesticides and repellents which are effective against horn flies, face flies, stable flies, house flies, mosquitoes, lice, ticks, and mites are bioresmethrin, permethrin, tetramethrin, cypermethrin, decamethrin, pyrethrins, resmethrin, cyhalothrin, allethrin, dichlorvos, carbaryl, naled, citrus oils, citronella oil, pine oil, stirofos, fenvalerate, stabilene, benzyl benzoate, methyl nonyl ketone, N-butylacetanilide, di-n-propyl isocinchomeronate, 2-octylthioethanol, dimethyl carbate, dimethyl phthalate, N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, and 2,3:4,5-bis (2-butylene)-tetrahydro-2-furfural. Many of these active ingredients are effective both as a pesticide and a repellent, and the activity of many is enhanced by the inclusion of a synergist. Especially preferred synergists include piperonyl butoxide and N-octyl bicycloheptene dicarboximide.

The active ingredient may also be a repellent or poison effective against predatory animals such as coyotes, foxes, dogs, cats, cougars, bobcats, and the like.

The active ingredient may have a coloring agent added thereto so as to indicate the amount thereof remaining. Some active ingredients are sensitive to degradation by oxidation or by ultraviolet light, and must be protected in order to provide long-term action. The invention is particularly useful for providing such protection. If the active ingredient is photosensitive or especially susceptible to rapid oxidation, the reservoir or the rate-controlling membrane may contain additives such as ultraviolet light absorbers and antioxidants.

The dispenser may have a portion of its outer surface covered with an impermeable backing material so as to cause the active ingredient to be released, in the case of a disc shape, from one side only. A suitable impermeable backing film is a polyethylene-foil-paper laminate made by Lithotype Co. of South San Francisco, California. In some cases, as in the case of a polyurethane rate-controlling membrane, the polyethylene- side backing of the film must first be coated with an adhesive such as Elvax 40 made by DuPont.

The membrane may be clear so as to provide visual observation of the active ingredient or it may be color coded to indicate ownership, release rate, type of active ingredient, or date of attachment to the animal. Coloring may also extend the life of the dispenser by shielding the active ingredient and the polymeric membrane itself from ultraviolet light.

Example 1

Devices of the invention were prepared using the following components:

• Attachment device: polyurethane cattle ear tag Porous reservoir: cellulose filter material, grade 113 (Whatman Laboratory Products of Clifton, NJ), 5-cm diameter
• Membrane: polyurethane, Tuftane 310 (Lord Corporation of Erie, PA), 15 mils thick, 7.5-cm diameter Active ingredient: cypermethrin, 2g

The devices were prepared by the following procedure: the porous reservoir was placed on the attachment device and the active ingredient was dispensed onto the reservoir with a pipette. The membrane was then placed over the filled reservoir and was sealed to the attachment device on its perimeter using a circular heat sealer. Total releasing surface area was 29 cm². These devices were attached to the ears of cattle and were observed to protect the cattle from ticks for at least three months.

example 2

Devices were prepared as in Example 1 with the exception that the active ingredient was a mixture of lg each permethrin and piperonyl butoxide. These devices were attached to the ears of cattle and protected the cattle from face flies for longer than three months.

Example 3

Devices were prepared as in Example 2 with the exceptions that a reservoir, active ingredient, and membrane were affixed to each side of each device, the total quantity of active ingredients was lg on each side of the device, and the membrane thickness was 5 mils. These devices were attached to cattle and were observed to protect cattle from ticks for at least three months.

Example 4

Devices were prepared as in Example 1 with the exception that the active ingredient was deltamethrin, which was dispersed in corn oil (2g deltamethrin in 0.7g corn oil) to render it a liquid.

Example 5

Devices were prepared as in Example 2 with the exception that the reservoir material was microporous polysulfone of the type shown in FIG. 5 (magnified 700X) prepared by casting a 10% by weight solution of polysulfone (made by Union Carbide of New York, NY and sold under the trade name Udel P-1700) in dimethyl formamide. The solution was cast 20 mils thick on a glass plate and immediately immersed in a room temperature water bath, which precipitated the polysulfone in the desired formulation. The polysulfone sheet was dried at 110°C for an hour and a reservoir was cut therefrom with a circular punch. These devices were attached to cattle and were observed to protect cattle from face flies for longer than three months.

Example 6

Devices of the invention were prepared using the following components:

• Attachment device: polyurethane cattle ear tag Porous reservoir: polypropylene mesh, 3.2-cm diameter
• Membrane: polyurethane, Tuftane 310, 17 mils thick, black color, 5-cm diameter Active ingredient: lg permethrin + lg piperonyl butoxide
• Impermeable backing: laminated polyethylene/ aluminum foil/polyethylene/ paper, 4.1-cm diameter

The following procedure was used to prepare the devices: the reservoir was placed on the impermeable backing, and the active ingredient was dispensed onto the reservoir with a pipette. The membrane was then placed over the filled reservoir and was sealed to the impermeable backing on its perimeter using a heat sealer. The total releasing surface area was 9 cm². This controlled-release dispenser was then placed onto the attachment device and was sealed to the device on its perimeter using a sonic welder.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not necessarily of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is limited only by the claims which follow.