CATTLE TICK ON COAST

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17173, 1 February 1930, Page 16

CATTLE TICK ON COAST

PREVENTING ITS SPREAD ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TASK The official attitude tliai cattle tick is not regarded as a serious pest by the Department < f Agriculture was pointed out in these <ou.inns previously this week, when it was announced that Mr. W. C. Barry, Wellington district superintendent of stock, and Mr. li. Wright, principal inspector for the Wellington district, were on their way to Gisborne and the Coast to inspect' the. cattle tick infested area there. Despite this, however, it must he rather disquieting for Poverty Bay farmers to know that ticks have been discovered in the B, or buffer area, in the Waikolnt County. These discoveries, however, have been rare, and so far not more than one tick has been found oil any one farm in this area. This season was not the first occasion on which such a discovery had been made, hut the measures adopted hv the Department of Agriculture have been successful enough to prevent the spread to any serious extent. The spraying of the cattle on farms on which ticks have been discovered has been one of the main measures, the spraying being done on several occasions in order to prevent the ticks from settling on the animals, thus depriving the parasites of the blood-food needed for their existence. The success of these means was indicated in the fad that the spread had been minimised, and that on at least one property. on which a tick was found last, season, no such discovery was made this summer. “.MUCH EXAGGERATED PJiST” Information on the abuse lines was given to a reporter to-day by Mr Barry, who repeated the assertion that in the past the cattle tick had been a much exaggerated pest. It was discovered, however, that although it was an undesirable parasite it did no real harm except a little puncturing of the hides, while the tick was not a disease carrier, as were varieties found in sonic other countries, such as in Australia. Mr. Barry mentioned that specimens of the {ilew" Zealand ticks had been sent to 1 a laboratory in Queensland in an endeavour to ascertain whether they were carriers of tick fever, hut tests made showed conclusively that t his was not so . Mr. Barry had visited also the coastal district, where the infestation has been known ’to exist for about four years, in this connection lie had nothing further to say than what was reported earlier in the week, except that all precautions were being taken to prevent its spread. Some of the long growth on a number of properties had been burned off with satisfactory results, hut it was an almost impossible task to prevent the spread of the parasite, for it could lie carried in so many different ways. PRIVATE DIPS

(Inly on one property on the Coast on which the ticks had secured a .good hold had they been known to have been completely eradicated, and this was by a means that was not always practicable. One farm on which the infestation was fairly prevalent remained unstocked for nine months. The result was that the ticks had no animals on which to gorge in order to complete their life circle. W hen the * property was restocked no ticks were in evidence. Although cattle tick was not regarded as u serious pest, the department was doing its utmost to control it, and farmers should bo as anxious to do their share. To date, Mr. Barry said, the farmers of Ihe district had co-operated well with the department. Ife thought that in the future a number of the larger farmers would erect private dips of their own in just the same manner as they had constructed sheep dips. Some of the North Auckland men had done this, for not only was dipping a precaution against the further spread of the ticks, but the cattle when dipped were grealv improved in condition, being cleaned of lice at the same time.