Invasive Asian Longhorned Ticks impacting livestock producers across the Upper Cumberland as the species establish a permanent presence.
Fentress County UT Extension Director John Gunter said the tick species can produce up to 2,000 eggs at a time without a mate. Gunter said the ticks spread disease like a mosquito would, traveling from one animal to the next.
“In the livestock industry, that animal can, you know, bring upwards of $2,800 to $3,000 at 500 pound,” Gunter said. “Well, they can devastate, you know, you lose one of those to Theileria that will get throughout the whole herd and you’re talking we’ve had producers lose hundreds of thousands of dollars already in livestock.”
Gunter said the disease is difficult to track because some producers may mistake cattle mortality for old age rather than identifying symptoms like anemia and elevated body temperatures.
“I don’t think that we’ve we’ve even scratched the surface of how detrimental, you know, the effects of this tick in particular because of its effects on the livestock industry, you know,” Gunter said. “Yeah, uh I think there’s a lot of that that’s still out there and it’s just it’s there’s so many moving parts because uh, you know, it affects it affects, you know, whenever you talk about ‘Well, okay this this producer lost $250,000 worth of cattle.’ Well, so maybe the next guy down the road does because we, you know, here in Fentress County we’re the number two feeder calf uh, you know, producers in in the state of Tennessee, you know. I have more than I have more than five or six producers that market 10,000 head a year, you know. And and so it would really could make an impact significant impact on our local economy and, you know, really statewide.”
Gunter said livestock owners should implement heightened parasite control by using pyrethrin sprays or cattle rubs. Gunter said the ticks often congregate in the ears, under the flanks, and around the tail heads of infected animals.
“If you feed those cattle at a at a common area and you can, you know, just spray the pyrethrins with a pump up sprayer on their back, but everybody needs to be practicing really really heightened parasite control on their livestock right now.”
Gunter said the agricultural community is also monitoring the New World Screwworm, a fly that feeds on the live flesh of animals through open wounds or tick bites. Gunter said while no cases have been identified in the Upper Cumberland yet, the parasite has recently moved across the border into Texas and New Mexico. Gunter said trends suggest it will not be a surprise to see cases begin to populate in the region.
“It’s just something to be cognizant of,” Gunter said. “Once again, the USDA has a website screwworm.gov and you can get on there, you can actually keep up. It shows how they’re monitoring that, where it’s at, you know, where it’s been where the cases have been active and you can kind of follow that. It also has tips on how to make sure you’re once again practicing that parasite control, so that those don’t become a problem in our area.”
