Diseases carried by ticks
Practical Action
Bont (Amblyomma) tick
(multi coloured): carries
heartwater
Boophilus tick (blue)
carries anaplasmosis
and babesiosis
Actual size of ticks.
Ticks get bigger as the
suck blood for the animal
Prevention
Keep animals with ticks away from healthy animals. (1)
Avoid collecting fodder from roadsides where many animals graze and pass. (1)
Graze in hot places where there are fewer ticks. (2)
Move animals away from areas with high numbers of ticks. (2)
Allow birds to eat ticks, for instance by keeping chickens in and around the animal
housing. (2)
Raise neem (Azadirachta indica) or other pest-repellent plants near animal housing.
(2)
Remove weeds and bushes from animal housing. (2)
Burn tick-infested manure in the boma. (2)
Treatment
The treatments below may be expected to work also for lice (see Lice for further treatments).
Rub old engine oil on infested areas of the animal's body. (Samburu,2)
Carefully pull ticks off the animal and burn them. Apply oil or warm ash to treat
wounds that may occur. (Turkana, 1)
Mix 100 g (5 tablespoons) of salt in 1 litre of water and rub the liquid on the animal's
body. (Goats; Gabbra, 3)
Allow camels to wallow in shallow, muddy pools.(Camels; Samburu, Turkana, 2)
Make a paste of green tobacco leaves, add some water, and apply on the areas with
ticks. You can also grind dry tobacco leaves and mix them with water to make
a paste. (2)
Boil 1 kg fresh or dry tobacco leaves in 10 litres of water for 30 minutes. Allow the
liquid to cool and rub it on the animal. This makes the ticks fall off, but does not kill
them. (Camels, cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep; Gikuyu, 2)
Boil 0.25 kg of tobacco leaves in4litres of water. Add 1 litre of soapy water. Use this
liquid to wash the animal. (2)
Crush 1 handful of Aloe broomii leaves, mix with 1 litre of water, and brush on
infested parts of the animal's body. (3)
Mix 1 litre of camel urine with a handful of gum resin of hagar (Commiphora
erythraea) or damaji (Commiphora incisa). Heat and stir to make a paste. Apply on
parts where the ticks attach. They die, and other ticks are repelled for 1 week.
(Camels, cattle, donkeys, goats, sheep; Somali, 3)
2