Cattle tick control poses a significant challenge for livestock in tropical and subtropical regions. The objective of this study was to determine the most suitable timing to initiate a strategic tick control program and to identify the ideal number of acaricide treatments for adult taurine cattle (Bos taurus taurus) in a tropical region throughout the year. Three groups with 10 bovines each were performed: T01 (strategic treatment in late autumn/winter/late spring, every 28 days), T02 (strategic treatment to act in the “first tick generation” – early spring/summer/early autumn, every 28 days) and T03 (control). Tick counts (females 4–8 mm) were conducted every 14 days. If the tick burden in any group reached 30 or more during these counts, we applied an additional treatment. Over the course of a year, T02 required significantly fewer (p < 0.05) acaricide treatments than T01, with nine treatments for T02 and eleven for T01. Furthermore, during the tick counts, animals in T02 showed a lower tick burden compared to those in T01. Initiating the strategic tick control program in early spring, corresponding to the first tick generation, proved more effective than starting in autumn. This approach not only required fewer acaricide treatments but also resulted in a reduced tick burden. These benefits are particularly valuable in terms of animal welfare and managing acaricide resistance issues.

牛蜱控制对热带和亚热带地区的牲畜构成重大挑战。本研究的目的是确定启动战略性蜱虫控制计划的最合适时机，并确定热带地区成年牛磺酸牛 ( Bos taurus taurus ) 全年的理想杀螨剂治疗次数。进行三组，每组 10 头牛：T01（在深秋/冬季/晚春进行策略性治疗，每 28 天），T02（在“第一代蜱虫”中进行策略性治疗 – 早春/夏季/初秋，每28 天）和 T03（对照）。每 14 天进行一次蜱计数（雌性 4-8 毫米）。如果在这些计数期间任何组中的蜱负担达到 30 或更多，我们就会进行额外的治疗。在一年内，T02 所需的杀螨剂处理次数明显少于 T01（p  < 0.05），T02 需要 9 次处理，T01 需要 11 次处理。此外，在蜱计数过程中，与 T01 中的动物相比，T02 中的动物表现出较低的蜱负担。事实证明，在早春（对应于第一代蜱虫产生）启动战略性蜱虫控制计划比在秋季启动更有效。这种方法不仅需要更少的杀螨剂治疗，而且还减少了蜱的负担。这些益处对于动物福利和管理杀螨剂抗性问题特别有价值。