Learning About Ticks

By Deb Haines

Ticks are a group of ectoparasites responsible for major losses amongst livestock. Ticks can transmit a number of disease-causing organisms to horses. Two of the most common diseases which horse owners should be aware of are anaplasmosis and Lyme disease. Learning to identify ticks can make a difference.

Blacklegged ticks, or deer ticks, are the main carriers of Borrelia bacteria ( Lyme disease)

Lyme Disease is a bacterial disease spread by ticks that affects dogs, horses and humans Lyme disease is spread through the bite of an infected tick (vector). Wild mammals, especially small rodents and deer, can carry the bacteria in nature. Ticks get the bacteria when they feed (bloodmeal) on infected wildlife. The tick can now spread the bacteria to other animals (such as pets) or humans when it feeds (bites).

Deer Tick… Ixodes scapularis is commonly known as the deer tick or black-legged tick It is a hard-bodied tick of the eastern and northern Midwestern United States It is a vector for several diseases of animals, including humans Lyme Disease, Babesiosi, Anaplasmosis ,Powassan virus disease etc.) and is known as the deer tick owing to its habit of parasitizing the white tail- deer. It is also known to parasitize mice, lizards, migratory birds,etc. especially while the tick is in the larval or nymphal stage.

Brown dog tick prefers dogs and often infests houses, especially when dogs are kept inside. They cause considerable stress to owners and dogs that encounter thousands of them during summer months.

American dog ticks are major pests of people and domestic animals. Adults will attack dogs, medium mammals, livestock and humans. Adults are most abundant in late spring and early summer. American dog ticks are a major vector (carrier) of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the eastern US.

Rocky Mountain wood tick is an important pest attacking livestock and wildlife in western North America. They are the primary vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Colorado tick fever virus.

Lone star tick is one of the most notorious tick pest species in the US. All stages of the tick attack companion animals, livestock, wildlife, and humans. Deer are the primary hosts for the adults.

Gulf Coast ticks attack a wide range of birds and mammals with adults feeding mostly on ruminants. Gulf Coast ticks feed mainly on the head and ears and can cause severe injury to the skin of cattle rendering the hides useless from the bites and secondary infections.

Tropical bont ticks are found in Africa and the Caribbean and at times have made their way to Puerto Rico. The tick attacks livestock and wild ruminants as well as birds. They are carriers of the rickettsia virus that causes heartwater disease, a very devastating disease to the cattle industry.

Cattle fever tick ranges throughout the world in tropical regions. They typically are parasites of cattle but have been found to infest white-tailed deer and nalgi. They can lead to reduced weight gains and milk production with heavy infestations. The tick also transmits the protozoan Babesia bigemina, which causes Texas Cattle fever, a devastating disease of the cattle industry.

Spinose ear tick are a soft-bodied tick that is only parasitic in the larval and nymphal stages. are found in western North America and frequently infest livestock, especially cattle and horses. The adults do not feed but the young feed in the ears of their host causing injury to the auditory canal and secondary infections.

Note.. Ticks transmit many microbial disease agents to livestock and companion animals. They also can be debilitating and sometimes fatal to the host. Heavily infested livestock and poultry may experience economic reductions that can be significant.

Lyme Disease

Blacklegged ticks, or deer ticks, are the main carriers of Borrelia bacteria

Lyme Disease is a bacterial disease spread by ticks that affects dogs, horses and humans Lyme disease is spread through the bite of an infected tick (vector). Wild mammals, especially small rodents and deer, can carry the bacteria in nature. Ticks get the bacteria when they feed (bloodmeal) on infected wildlife. The tick can now spread the bacteria to other animals (such as pets) or humans when it feeds (bites).

Control: Historically the way to control ticks and their diseases was to use pesticides, acaricides, to kill the ticks and their infectious agents. Slowly many ticks are becoming resistant to the commonly used pesticides.

Early removal of attached ticks is important in minimizing the risk of contracting tick-borne diseases.

Ref…..https://livestockvetento.tamu.edu/insectspests/ticks/