Certain cattle breeds are more resistant to cattle tick infestation than others. Typically, Bos indicus (tropical breeds) are more resistant than Bos taurus cattle (European breeds). Selecting a resistant cattle breed for tick infected areas will naturally reduce tick populations and is a low cost, permanent solution to control ticks.
Both animal and environmental factors can impact on an individual animals susceptibility to cattle tick, see Table 1. Within breed variability also exists at a genetic level (heritable traits), however, measuring a resistance score for a single animal is difficult. This constraint applies in both beef and dairy cattle. As described in the ‘Within breed selection’ and ‘EBVs’ sections, research is underway to find simpler, more cost-effective measures to identify cattle that are resistant to ticks, with the aim of genetically improving cattle breeds grazed in tick-endemic regions of the world.
Table 1. Animal and environmental factors (excluding breed) that can impact on resistance to cattle ticks.
Animal factor |
Impact on cattle tick resistance |
Sex |
Male calves more susceptible than females. |
Age |
Takes 6-9 months to develop tick immunity. |
Lactation status |
Lower resistance in lactating dairy cows. |
Tick counts significantly higher in first-lactation animals. |
|
Coat type (very sleek to very woolly) |
Heavier coats increase resistance. |
Licking and social grooming |
Grooming reduces female tick survival. |
Environmental factor |
Impact on cattle tick resistance |
Time of year (season) |
Heat stress and higher tick burdens in summer lowers resistance. |
Other parasites: External (flies and lice) and or internal (worms) |
Lowers resistance. |
Seasonally poor nutrition |
Lowers resistance. |
High heat and humidity |
Lowers resistance. |