The spelling of pasture in cattle tick control

Abstract

When two comparable herds of cattle were kept continuously in adjoining paddocks, frequent acaricidal treatment was necessary to control ticks (Boophilus microplus (Canestrini) ). Thereafter, one of the two herds was grazed alternately in its own and an adjacent paddock, the intervals between each transfer being sufficient to ensure that most of the ticks in the unoccupied paddock had died. Tick infestations on this herd were greatly reduced, and less frequent use of acaricides was necessary. The herd remaining in the continuously stocked pasture continued to need acaricidal treatment for recurring tick infestation. In a field trial with 350–400 cattle moved a t intervals to each of three formerly heavily infested paddocks, tick infestations remained very light, although the herd was dipped only In January, September, and the following January. A control herd on continuously stocked pasture, treated at the owner's discretion, required eight dippings in this period. This procedure of "pasture spelling" seems likely to be widely applicable in central Queensland.