Massive economic losses imposed by Dermanyssus gallinae De Geer, 1778 and limitation in using chemical compounds against them, indicates that searching for new alternative miticide compounds is an important necessity. The aim of this study was to investigate acaricidal effects of thyme essential oil and tobacco extract on D. gallinae in comparison to Carbaryl 85%WP in laboratory conditions. For this purpose a filter paper contact test was used and 30 live adult female mites were exposed to different concentrations of each examined compound for 2, 4, 6 and 24h. The mortality rate of mites at each concentration and time was recorded and each treatment was performed in triplicates. Three examined compounds showed acaricidal activities and effects of exposure time and concentration on mortality rate were significant (P<0.05). The highest mortality was achieved at 24h and tobacco extract showed more acaricidal activity than thyme essential oil. The results of this study suggest that tobacco has a promising acaricidal activity and is a potent green pesticide. More research is needed to investigate its side-effects and safety concerns for mammalian and bird hosts.

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