The cattle tick

DPI&F Biosecurity officers

On this page:

• Distribution
• Hosts
• Effects
• Identification
• Life cycle
• Seasonal incidence
• Control
• Movement restrictions

The cattle tick (Boophilus microplus) is a serious external parasite of cattle in Australia, causing significant economic losses to the cattle industry.

Cattle ticks can be controlled but for any program to be effective it is necessary to have some understanding of the habits and life cycle of the parasite.

Distribution

The cattle tick infected zone of Queensland comprises the coastal areas east of the Great Dividing Range and north of the Great Northern Rail line. Cattle ticks are also found in the northern areas of Western Australia and Northern Territory and sporadically the northern rivers area of New South Wales.

Outbreaks of cattle ticks can and do occur in tick free zones of the state, being more common in the marginal areas adjacent to the infected zone.

Hosts

Cattle are the main hosts for cattle ticks although they may be found on horses, goats, sheep, deer, camelids and buffaloes. Other animals are considered insignificant as hosts for the cattle tick.

Effects

Heavy infestation of cattle ticks causes loss of condition and even death because of tick worry and loss of blood. They can also carry and transmit tick fever organisms which cause death and sickness in cattle. When cattle are heavily infested, ticks can be found anywhere on the body. On a lightly infected animal the main places to look are the escutcheon, tail butt, belly, shoulder, dewlap and ears.

Hides of heavily infested animals are damaged by tick bites and their value reduced. In severe cases hides may unsaleable.

Cattle are particularly vulnerable when they first encounter cattle ticks but develop a degree of resistance after repeated exposure. Bos indicus cattle (tropical breeds) and their crosses develop better resistance than do Bos taurus (British & European breeds). Horses, goats and sheep also suffer tick worry but after a period of time will develop strong resistance.

Identification

The best time to identify the cattle tick is when it is at the adult stage. Other ticks which may be commonly found on cattle in Queensland are scrub ticks and New Zealand cattle (or bush) ticks.

Scrub tick	NZ bush tick	Cattle tick
Fully fed adult females (enlarged several times)

      

	Scrub tick	NZ bush tick	Cattle tick
Legs	first and last pair brown, others pale; in V shape line from snout down sides of body;	dark red-brown; first pair close to snout;	pale cream; wide space between first pair and snout;
Body	pear shaped to oval;	oval;	oval to rectangular;
Face	oval, wider at rear;	broadly oval;	oval, wider at front;
Snout	very long;	short, wider at face;	short, straight;

* (please note ticks have been enlarged x 4)

Life cycle

The cattle tick spends the parasitic stage of its life on the one host. This stage takes approximately 21 days during which time the tick changes from a minute larvae to a nymph and finally an adult. Adult females feed slowly for about a week, filling rapidly with blood at the end of that time. They then drop onto pasture, lay up to 3000 eggs and die. Eggs then hatch to produce larvae which then infest the pasture until picked up by a suitable host or eventually die. This non parasitic stage can vary from approximately 2 months in summer to 6 to 7 months over winter and is adversely affected by extremes in temperature and moisture levels. Males feed occasionally, but do not fill with blood. They wander over the beast for two months or more, mating with females.

Seasonal incidence

In southern Queensland, ticks which fall between mid April and late June produce virtually no progeny. However, engorged female ticks dropped in early autumn can produce larvae that will survive the winter and eventually result in a 'spring rise' in tick numbers. If not controlled, these ticks breed up to a stage where there are great numbers in autumn and early winter.

Further north, ticks lay viable eggs all year round. However, in central Queensland, there is a slowing down during winter while in northern Queensland the wet season interferes with tick production.

Control

Cattle ticks can be controlled to varying degrees using resistant cattle, strategic treatments with chemicals, the cattle tick vaccine, pasture spelling or combinations of these methods.

Movement restrictions

Under the Stock Act 1915 and in particular the Stock (Cattle Tick) Notice 2005, Queensland is divided into three tick zones for movement control purposes:

• The Queensland Infected Zone
• The Queensland Free Zone
• The Queensland Control Zone

The control zone is marginal in terms of tick survival and is generally free of ticks but can become infected when seasonal conditions are favourable.

Before entering tick free or control zones stock from the tick infected zone must be inspected clean and treated under the supervision of an Inspector of Stock or an Approved Person. There are also restrictions on stock moving interstate and stock owners should contact their local DPI&F office for details of the relevant regulations.

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Information contained in this publication is provided as general advice only. For application to specific circumstances, professional advice should be sought. The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries Queensland has taken all reasonable steps to ensure the information in this publication is accurate at the time of publication. Readers should ensure that they make appropriate inquiries to determine whether new information is available on the particular subject matter.

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Last reviewed 13 June 2007