The history of the cattle tick Boophilus microplus in Australia and achievements in its control

Abstract

For more than 100 years, tick fever and the cattle tick have caused tremendous financial loss to cattle producers around the world. Since Australia became infected with the disease and infested with its tick vector in the mid-19th century, a great deal of research effort has been directed towards their effective control by Australian farmers, administrators and scientists. Such research has yielded information which has facilitated the development of various control strategies that have equal application in other countries afflicted with the same problem. It has been demonstrated that integration of a variety of these strategies is necessary for long-lasting control.