Moove out of the way, ticks: Brazilian company Decoy Smart Control, whose biological pest-control product offers a non-toxic option for killing ticks on livestock, just raised $2M in funding.
How it works: The biocontrol product uses two species of fungi that can kill ticks—but are harmless to cattle, humans, and the environment.
Essentially, farmers take a bottle of Decoy’s liquid solution (containing spores from fungi), spray it on their cattle and fields, and go about their day. Meanwhile, those spores attach to ticks, kill them, and then reproduce. That creates a “chain effect,” according to co-founder and CEO Lucas von Zuben.
The product has been tested on over 100K animals on 800 properties in Brazil. The intended launch for the cattle tick treatment is 2023, pending Brazilian regulatory approval. The company is taking aim at Australia and India as possible locations for expansion, as well as thinking about additional product lines for pets and poultry.
Soundbite: “Biocontrols started with crops; people have [recognized] that opportunity. As we have a lot of problems not only in crops but also in animal agriculture, we saw [another] opportunity – and we have found a way to bring this technology to animal health in a way that no-one had before,” von Zuben said.