Sheep Ticks

The threat posed by sheep ticks Ixodes ricinus is through their capacity to transmit diseases that affect humans, birds and animals.



The principal human disease is Lyme disease and this can cause severe disability or even death.  In animals, the range of diseases includes redwater in cattle, and tick borne fever, tick pyaemia and louping ill in sheep.  Louping ill is of particular interest as it involves a cycle affecting grouse and sheep, and thus can severely reduce the economic earning capacity of moorland.



Domestic stock can be used to kill ticks effectively.  If sheep are dosed with a pour-on acaricide (principally Dysect, Crovect or Spot-on) any tick biting the sheep will be killed.

One of the problems of tick control is that ticks do not respect man-made boundaries and neighbours need to be involved in any tick control work.  Ticks are moved around an area on wild hosts, which also cross boundaries, and a coordinated approach is the only way to tackle the problem.



Habitat management has an important part to play in tick control by reducing the amount of deep litter available (for example, bracken beds) which provides ideal breeding conditions for ticks.



A Members Briefing is in preparation that will be published in February 2013.