Preventative methods to reduce the spread of cattle fever ticks on wildlife and protect local endangered species in South Texas

Authors: Goolsby, John; Maestas, Lauren; Garcia, Reyes; May, Melinda; Lohmeyer, Kimberly - Kim; PICANSO, JOHN - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); ANDERSON, DOUG - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); COY, JESSE - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS); BONILLA, DENISE - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Submitted to: Southwestern Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/20/2023
Publication Date: 5/17/2023
Citation: Goolsby, J., Maestas, L.P., Garcia III, R., May, M.A., Lohmeyer, K.H., Picanso, J., Anderson, D., Coy, J., Bonilla, D. 2023. Preventative methods to reduce the spread of cattle fever ticks on wildlife and protect local endangered species in South Texas. Southwestern Entomologist. https://doi.org/10.3958/059.048.0201.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3958/059.048.0201

Interpretive Summary: Cattle fever ticks (CFT) are invasive livestock pests that are endemic to Mexico and invasive along the Texas – Mexico border. Pesticide resistance, alternate wildlife hosts, and pasture weeds that help ticks survive all present challenges for sustainable eradication of this pest in the U.S. CFT are the vector for bovine babesiosis, a lethal disease causing high mortality particularly in cattle. Efforts to eradicate CFT from the United States have been successful; however, in recent years, there has been an increase in CFT infestations outside of the Permanent Quarantine Zone in Texas. New methods for management of cattle fever tick-infested white-tailed-deer and nilgai are needed especially along the Texas-Mexico border. This study documents the movement of nilgai and white-tailed deer through gaps in game fencing inland from the international border, which was previously built to redirect movements of the endangered ocelot, Leopardus paradalis to wildlife crossings. Game fencing is known to limit movement of nilgai and white-tailed deer and thus reduce the spread of cattle fever ticks. Therefore, additional game fencing is proposed to limit the movements of tick infested nilgai, white-tailed deer and further redirect ocelots to crossings to avoid road mortality. In other parts of Cameron and Willacy Counties where road mortality to ocelots is not an issue, game fencing is designed with large openings to block nilgai but allow for free movement for these endangered feline species. This research demonstrates how efforts to protect livestock from an exotic pest can also merge with the goals of protecting endangered species in the same environment.

Technical Abstract: The reintroduction and dispersal of the livestock and wildlife pest Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, the southern cattle fever tick, along the U.S.-Mexico border in the southernmost counties of Cameron and Willacy has been largely attributed to nilgai antelope, Boselaphus tragocamelus and to a lesser extent, white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus. Nilgai are competent hosts of R. microplus, have large home ranges, and are distributed from southern Texas into northeastern Mexico, where R. microplus, a vector of bovine babesiosis, is endemic. This study documents the movement of nilgai and white-tailed deer through gaps in game fencing previously built to redirect movements of the endangered ocelot, Leopardus paradalis to wildlife crossings. Game fencing has been found to successfully limit movement of nilgai and white-tailed deer and thus has the potential reduce the spread of cattle fever ticks. on these animal hosts. Therefore, additional game fencing is proposed to limit the movements of tick infested nilgai, white-tailed deer and further redirect ocelots to crossings to avoid road mortality. In other parts of Cameron and Willacy Counties where road mortality to ocelots is not an issue, game fencing is designed with large openings to block nilgai but allow for free movement for these endangered feline species. This research demonstrates how efforts to protect livestock from an exotic pest can also merge with the goals of protecting endangered species in the same environment.