Causes of Tick Resistance

Home made pour-on dips is a criminal offence under Regulation No. R1716 (26 July 1991) of the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act, 1947 (Act No. 36 of 1947).

Man and his own inventions have lost his battle against the Blue Tick registered pyrethroids and amidine pour-on acaricides without him even realizing it.

These products, cost Animal Health Companies, billions of dollars to research and test before it is safe to manufacture, just to find that their target market (game ranches and cattle producers) makes use of other untested and unvalidated means to combat Blue ticks and tick transmitted diseases. By these actions and also in terms of climate change and the active spreading of new viral dangers and other Tick Borne Diseases (TBD) through ticks, endangers all animal life and economic investments in cattle and game.

Registered pyrethroids and amidine pour-on acaricides are developed and tested with the highest possible efficacy and safety in mind. They therefore

· Have no systemic effect on the targeted animals, by leaving no traces of the active ingredient or spreading components.

· Is not dangerous to man and or other warm blooded animals useful to man.

In contrast, Home brew mixtures are dangerous concoctions for the following reasons.

• The application of active ingredients is NEVER accurate and do have the ability to become systemic as a result of using the wrong solvents.
• Cooking oil, coconut oil, citronella oil, mineral oils and diesel often used in these concoctions, does not spread active ingredients to the critical point of control, i.e. udder and ears.
• It distorts the molecular action, and with UV and rising temperature changes, change the chemical combination and shuts off the molecular action of the active ingredient on the tick
• Chemical agents that can spread the active ingredient effectively can never be bought in terms of the Law in the consumer market.
• The chemical formulation for Insecta (6 legged animals) vs. the formulation for Arachnida (8- legged animals) differs vastly and indifferently to the skin structure and absorbent qualities of the targeted parasite, so it won’t have the same efficacy and safety qualities when used on non target species
• Crop protection products, also sometimes used in these home brew mixtures, are severely injurious and poisonous to the skin structure of warm blooded animals.
• Wrongly concocted chemical formulations infiltrate the skin. Poured onto ungulates, the animals are severely chemically tarnished and poisoned. Their digestive system does not know how to break down the residual products and absorbed it into the animal’s fat layers, rendering it unfit for human consumption.
• Meat and milk contaminated with these poisonous active ingredients are possibly the greatest cause of cancers to mankind.
• Tick larvae, not effectively treated by this homebrew remedies, cause selection in the favour of resistant individuals and limit available types of control, even by registered remedies, due to the acaricides not available for control anymore.
• Poorly formulated actives build up severe resistance to pyrethroids due to over and under dosing and, the uneven distribution of the active ingredient.
• In various parts of Southern Africa, the Blue Tick can no longer be controlled with pyrethroids due to misinterpretation of the absence of tick control and inadequate use of scientific means to establish the reasons why control is not achieved..

Pierre van Niekerk