An Overview of Hard and Soft Ticks and Their Control Methods

Abstract

Ticks are important ectoparasites of livestock in tropical and sub-tropical countries. They are responsible for the enormous economic losses both through the direct effects of blood sucking and indirectly as vectors of disease pathogens and toxins. Morphologically, ticks are classified into two families known as Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft ticks). In this chapter, the authors provide a description of the soft and hard ticks. Emphasis is laid on the genera morphology, species, mammalian hosts, and distribution and the diseases transmitted by the ticks species. Various methods for controlling ticks and tick-borne diseases using chemicals are described. A broad range of chemical acaricides used for the control of ticks on livestock are described. Conventional methods and unconventional methods for applying acaricides to protect livestock against ticks are described. Alternative methods for tick control are described. Only the most important hard and soft ticks and associated diseases are discussed within the limits of this review.