Efficacy of isolated or combined ixodicides in cattle infested with ticks (Acari: Ixodidae), Manabí-Ecuador

Abstract

With the objective of evaluating the in vivo acaricidal efficacy of Amitraz, Cypermethrin and their combination, in a dual-purpose production system in Flavio Alfaro canton, Manabí province, Ecuador, a research was carried out with 40 adult female cattle, naturally infested with ixodideans, which were divided into four experimental groups of 10 individuals each, treated by spraying as follows, Group 1: Amitraz [20.8%] 1mL/L, Group 2: Cypermethrin [15%] 1mL/L, Group 3: combination of Amitraz 1mL/L and Cypermethrin 1mL/L, and Group 4: untreated control. The acaricidal efficacy was evaluated through the percentage reduction of specimens, when comparing the treated groups with the control, prior to the start of the trial and on days three, seven and 14 post-treatment. The efficacy of the treatments on the different evaluation days was 88.34, 91.61 and 90.64% for Amitraz, 85.52, 89.93 and 90.03% for Cypermethrin and 89.96, 91.82 and 92. 18% for the group treated with the combination of the drugs used. Isolated sprays of Amitraz and/or Cypermethrin and their combination show efficiency greater than 90% in the control of ixodideans that infest cattle in dual-purpose production systems.