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Cattle in Jim Wells County monitored and treated after fever ticks discovered

Posted at 7:10 PM, Aug 27, 2019
and last updated 2019-08-27 20:10:08-04

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Fever ticks pose a big threat for farmers and ranchers. Now there's an effort underway to keep that pest from spreading in Jim Wells County. The Texas Animal Health Commission, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program, have established a County Fever Tick-Control Purpose Quarantine Area in northern Jim Wells County in order to eliminate the pest and prevent the spread of fever ticks.
The Texas Animal Health Commission and the U.S. Department of Agriculture have been fighting fever ticks for nearly two years now. That effort has gone into high gear after ticks were discovered on cattle sold earlier this month at a South Texas Livestock Market.

"So anytime you see a tick on your animal that you don't recognize as being common to your animals, it is important to take that to the Texas Animal Health Commission, call your local veterinarian, call your local county extension agent, or get a hold of the Texas Animal Health Commission in Austin and send them that tick," said Dr. Joe Paschal, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Beef Cattle Specialist.

Fever ticks can also affect horses and deer. Areas where they are found can be quarantined for at least nine months.

For more information visit: https://www.tahc.texas.gov/animal_health/feverticks-pests/