Cattle ticks, scientifically known as Rhipicephalus microplus, are external parasites that primarily feed on the blood of livestock. Their most common hosts include cattle, buffalo, bison, and deer. These ticks can also infest other animals, such as horses, sheep, and goats. They are “one-host” ticks, meaning they typically remain on a single animal throughout their larval, nymphal, and adult stages.
Understanding Cattle Tick Behavior
While cattle ticks predominantly feed on livestock, they can bite humans, who are considered incidental hosts. They thrive in warm, humid environments, often found in grassy, brushy, or wooded areas. Encounters occur during activities in these settings, such as working with animals or hiking. Ticks are drawn to hosts by sensing heat, body odor, and exhaled carbon dioxide. They employ “questing,” climbing onto vegetation and waiting for a passing host to attach.
Health Risks to Humans
Cattle ticks, and Rhipicephalus species more broadly, can transmit various pathogens to humans, including rickettsial diseases like the Spotted Fever Group Rickettsia (SFGR). Rhipicephalus microplus carries Rickettsia species, such as Rickettsia rickettsii, which causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF).
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is a bacterial infection with symptoms like fever, headache, and a rash that typically appears a few days after the bite, often starting on the wrists and ankles. Muscle pains and vomiting can also occur. Early treatment with doxycycline is important, as RMSF can lead to severe illness. Transmission can occur quickly, sometimes in as little as 10 minutes.
Anaplasmosis is another tick-associated illness caused by bacteria like Anaplasma phagocytophilum. While blacklegged ticks are primary vectors, Rhipicephalus microplus can also harbor this bacterium. Symptoms often mimic the flu, including fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and fatigue. Nausea and stomach pain can also occur, though a rash is uncommon. Diagnosis is confirmed through blood tests.
Protection and Post-Bite Care
Preventing cattle tick bites involves several practical steps outdoors. Wear protective clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts and pants tucked into socks or boots, to limit skin exposure. Light-colored clothing makes it easier to spot ticks. Use EPA-registered insect repellents containing DEET or picaridin on exposed skin. Treating clothing and gear with permethrin is also an effective deterrent.
Avoid areas where ticks are common, such as wooded environments, tall grass, and leaf litter. When hiking, stay in the center of trails to minimize contact with vegetation. After returning indoors, check clothing, gear, and pets for ticks. Taking a shower within two hours of outdoor activity may help wash off any unattached ticks. A thorough body check is recommended, focusing on areas like underarms, ears, hair, between the legs, behind the knees, and around the waist.
If a tick is attached, prompt and careful removal is important. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible. Pull upward with steady, even pressure, being careful not to twist or jerk the tick, which could leave mouthparts embedded. Avoid crushing the tick’s body or handling it with bare hands. After removal, clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water; avoid folk remedies like petroleum jelly or hot matches, as these can cause the tick to release more fluids into the bite site.
Seek medical attention if you cannot remove the entire tick, or if a rash develops, particularly an expanding or bull’s-eye shaped rash. Flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue, muscle aches, or headache following a tick bite also warrant medical consultation. Seek immediate medical attention for severe symptoms like severe headache, difficulty breathing, paralysis, or heart palpitations.