Use of acaricide-impregnated ear tags for controlling the brown ear tick (Acari: Ixodidae) in South Africa

Use of ear tags impregnated with flucythrinate, propetamphos, and fluvalinate for controlling brown ear tick, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Neumann, was studied. Ear tags placed in both ears of heifers were more efficient in controlling brown ear ticks than when animals were treated with only one ear tag or were dipped at weekly intervals. Although ear tags provided season-long protection against brown ear tick, presence of other tick species and high cost of ear tags reduce the probability that ear tags will replace the conventional dipping method of tick control in southern Africa.