May 2024 Issue |
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• Subscribe to Meat Goat Mania • Email Us • Onion Creek Ranch • Bending Tree Ranch • OCR Health & Management Articles • MGM Archive |
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ASIAN LONGHORNED TICKS A new invasive species of tick is spreading rapidly across the USA. First identified on sheep in New Jersey in 2017, they've since spread across 19 states primarily in the eastern part of this country. Haemaphysalis longicornis (Asian longhorned tick) have a unique reproductive method that makes them hard to control. They reproduce asexually using a biological process called parthenogenesis. Each female has the ability to lay 2,000 fertile eggs without having to mate with a male, resulting in thousands of Asian longhorned ticks in a short timeframe. Thousands of ticks can quickly kill animals by sucking the blood out of them. In Ohio on 2021, a cattle raiser reported the death of three cows from blood loss caused by massive numbers of ticks. The threat posed by Asian longhorned ticks arises from their very fast reproductive rate. This means that livestock raisers need to target tick prevention treatment early in the season before the eggs hatch. Tick season is April through October, with August usually being peak tick activity in most areas. These ectoparasites (parasites living on the body of an animal) are more effectively controlled through prevention than treatment when the ticks are already on the animals. Check your animals regularly for ticks. Avoid overgrown pasture. Use anti-tick products (acaricides) that focus on prevention by using permethrin-based repellants. Methods effective in keeping ticks off humans involve using gaiters on ankles and legs, keeping pants inside boots and shirts inside pants, and tumbling clothes inside dryers on high heat for 10 minutes. So far the Asian longhorned tick does not appear to have developed any resistance to topical tick-prevention products. Its main threat is its ability to overwhelm animals via its extremely rapid reproductive process, allowing the ticks to suck blood and kill quickly. For more information on this tick, see Margaret Osborne's November 27, 2023 article in The Smithsonian Magazine. Suzanne W. Gasparotto, ONION CREEK RANCH, Texas 5.1.24 |
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Subscribe FREE now! Monthly issues with new articles and other educational information on meat goat health, nutrition, and management written by Suzanne W. Gasparotto of Onion Creek Ranch and Pat Cotten of Bending Tree Ranch. In all cases, it is your responsibility to obtain veterinary services and advice before using any of the information provided in these articles. Neither Suzanne Gasparotto nor Pat Cotten are veterinarians. None of the contributors to this website will be held responsible for the use of any information contained herein. |
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