The cayenne tick is an important ectoparasite in the tropics of the Americas, from Texas south to Argentina, where it is abundant and active throughout the year, and a pest of both livestock and humans. It is a significant constraint to cattle production in these areas, particularly where it is present in high numbers. The importance of this tick is due to the intense irritation associated with its feeding as well as to its transmission of rickettsial spotted fever to humans and its potential as a vector of heartwater and piroplasmosis of cattle. Within the United States, this tick is currently present in only the southern portion of Texas and, consequently, receives little attention from conventional research programs. Many of the current methods for tick control in the Caribbean basin have major drawbacks, including the need for water (for sprays or dips), high personnel costs due to frequent treatments (at least every two weeks), costly formulation of acaricides, the potential for environmental contamination, and difficulties in regularly treating all animals (due to movement of tethered animals). CBAG research entails the development and testing of a control methodology that overcomes these problems and is affordable for third world countries such as Trinidad. This CBAG research is important since the geographic distribution and intensity of infestation of the cayenne tick has recently increased dramatically in Trinidad. The current tick epizootic in Trinidad could result in the spread of this species throughout the Caribbean and eventually even into Florida. Similar expansions of tick species have been documented for other ticks, two of which spread throughout much of the Basin and Puerto Rico. Development of a species-targeted control program based on use of acaricide in conjunction with tick pheromones would be ideal for localized reduction and/or eradication of the cayenne tick.

      The cayenne tick is well established in many countries in the Caribbean Basin including Mexico, Belize, Central America, Cuba, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana and Surinam. This species is one of the major ectoparasites limiting development of the livestock industry in the Caribbean Basin primarily due to high production losses of cattle and to hide damage. Additionally, it is a vector of Q fever, trypanosomiasis and heartwater. Recently, localized populations of the cayenne tick such as the one in Trinidad have risen dramatically and increased interest in control strategies. Tick control in the Caribbean, however, conventionally includes methods such as spray-ons, pour-ons or dips which are difficult to implement due to movement of animals, frequency of treatment (every 14 days), high labor costs and need for water.

    Impacts

• In Latin America and the Caribbean Basin there are over 267 million bovines and buffalo and over 145 million sheep and goats. Economic losses inflicted by cattle ticks in the Americas, including the costs of acaricidal treatments, are calculated to range between $6 to $13 per head. This means the overall economic cost of tick losses in the Americas is between $2.5 and $5.4 billion.

• Three species of ticks inflict about $62 million in annual losses on the Caribbean’s livestock industry. Of the three ticks, the cayenne tick is the second most important.

• In a 1981 survey of 35 countries of the Americas, ticks were listed 4th (from 32 countries) in importance for cattle, 3rd on equines from 31 countries, and 3rd for sheep from 20 countries.

• Latin America and the Caribbean Basin produce 17.2 percent of the world’s supply of beef and veal.

• From the above data, it can be estimated that the development of an effective attractant for the cayenne tick that can be incorporated with an effective acaricide in a tag to be placed on the animals’ ear would reduce the cost of treatment per animal by at least $3. This yields savings in the range of at least $1 billion annually.

• In addition, this development would reduce the use of sprays and dips resulting in a significant reduction in environmental impact and a more sustainable production system.