Research Article
Temesgen Tesfaye, Chala Moh
Abstract
Ticks are blood feeding ectoparasites that induce huge production losses in livestock industry and creating serious public health problems in the world. Although the use of chemicals is still the most effective method of tick control, uncontrolled applications may have accelerated the emergence of tick resistance to several active ingredients available. This study was conducted to assess the efficacy of commonly used acaricides (amitraz and diazinon) against Rhipicephalus decoloratus and Amblyomma variegatum collected from cattle by using Adult immersion test method. The in-vitro test employed an adult immersion technique. For laboratory experiment, adult ticks collected were exposed to Amitraz or Diazinon. The in-vitro assay showed no statistically significant tickicidal difference (p>0.05) between these compounds, although amitraz proved a relatively better efficacy. For both acaricides, doubled concentration was more effective in tick killing. In conclusion, comparing the efficacy of the two acaricides, amitraz is the preferable one. Furthermore, right application and choice of acaricides, avoidance of uncontrolled utilization of commercial insecticides and Strategies involving the early detection of resistance needs to be pursued in order to avoid any resistance against ticks in cattle.