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Prevention is the best medicine: understand how the weather affects ticks

Continuing our series on the cattle tick (Rhipicephalus microplus), today, we will show how the climatic factors present in the different regions of Brazil influence the development of the tick because different regions present differences in temperature and pressure, the infestation of this parasite occurs at different times and intensity in each of them. The higher the temperature and the humidity in the region, the faster the tick develops and the greater is the annual number of generations. The livestock farmer must know how the tick develops in their region.

The Southeast region, for example, has climatic conditions that favor the survival of the tick throughout the year. However, in the winter months, where lower temperatures and lower humidity are present, the cycle lengthens, resulting in fewer annual generations. But in summer, which is hot and rainy in the region, there are peaks of infestation and high development of parasites.  André Costa Freiria, who owns the “Batatais Agroambiental” Farm, which is located in the city of Batatais/SP, told the Decoy team about the infestation of the cattle tick throughout the year:

“Infestation usually worsens during humid and hot periods, generally between September and March. In the winter months, between April and August, which is drier and colder, ticks are less recurrent, and tick control is easier. So there is seasonality in the infestation.”

 — André Freiria, “Batatais” Farm.

In the southern region, low temperatures and winter drought lead to fairly slow tick development. For this reason, there is less risk for peak infestation throughout the year compared with other regions of the country. The owner of “Granja Guajuvira,” located in the city of Tupanciretã in Rio Grande do Sul, Iria Luiza Gomes Farias, also told us about the infestation of the cattle tick in the region:

“The biggest infestation always occurs in summer; at the beginning of December, we have the first wave of infestation. We have the second and highest peak from January to February and a third wave in March and April. We still have a little bit of tick in the winter months, but the infestation is much lower”.

— Iria Farias, “Granja Guajuvira”.

Dr. Cecília José Veríssimo, a researcher at the  “Instituto de Zootecnia (IZ)” (Institute of Animal Science) in the Northeast and North regions, commented that high temperatures during most of the year favor constant infestation throughout the year. In these cases, ticks may develop up to 5 generations throughout the year. In the Midwest, despite being known for having four tick generations developed per year, recent research has shown that this region can present up to 5 generations of ticks in one year.

In the image below, we highlight the number of annual generations of cattle ticks that develop in the different regions of Brazil.

 

Knowing the population dynamics of the cattle tick in the different regions allows the producer to be better prepared to carry out management. Recalling that Decoy develops solutions that help livestock farmers control this pest. Visit our website and learn about our products.

References

GOMES, A., 2000. Cattle Tick: Losses and control. EMBRAPA-CNPGC, Campo Grande, 4 p. Beef cattle disclose 42.

KESSLER, Raul Henrique; SCHENK, Maria Aparecida Moreira. Tick, parasitic sadness and trypanosomiasis of cattle. Campo Grande: Embrapa, 1998. 157 p.

ROCHA, C. M. B. M. Relevant aspects of the biology of Boophilus microplus (Canestrini, 1887). Lavras: Editora UFLA, 1999. Technical Bulletin.


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