METHODS ADOPTED TO DESTROY CATTLE TICK.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19134, 29 July 1930, Page 6

METHODS ADOPTED TO DESTROY CATTLE TICK.

No cases of sickness of any kind had been caused to cattle by infection from cattle tick, stated the Director-General of Agriculture (Dr C. J. Reakes), in making some observations on the extent to which New Zealand was infested with this parasite. Dr Reakes said that in a good many places in the North Island where the tick had made its appearance ordinary methods of control had apparently been successful. The spread of the disease was governed to a great extent by climatic conditions.- In the milder areas along the coast the tick seemed to be more persistent than inland. They hung on to rushes and tall grasses in the winter and sought an opportunity of attaching themselves to passing animals. One measure of control was to destroy all winter cover. Though there had been no cases of sickness through the pest, it had done a. certain amount of damage to the hides from a commercial point of view. The few ticks which had been found over a year ago at Talcaka, in the Nelson Province, seemed to have been cleaned out. The only case noted in the South Island since that was when a seagull, which had apparently flown a long distance, was found to be staggering on the beach at d’Urville Island. The bird, when shot, was found to have two or three cattle ticks among its feathers.