The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) is responsible for protecting the 

health of American agriculture, including 

our livestock industries. As part of our 

mission, APHIS leads the Cattle Fever 

Tick Eradication Program, a cooperative 

effort started in 1906 to rid the country of 

a serious cattle disease called babesiosis. 

The program depends on Federal and State 

animal health officials, the cattle industry, 

and producers working together to prevent 

the spread of this tick-borne illness. 

Commonly called cattle fever, babesiosis causes cattle 

to lose weight, produce less milk, and even die. The 

disease caused enormous losses to the cattle industry in 

the past. Before the eradication program began, direct 

and indirect economic losses were estimated to be 

$130.5 million—more than $3 billion today. USDA and 

its partners worked together to eradicate the disease from 

the country by 1943, except for a permanent quarantine 

area along the Texas/Mexico border, where the ticks that 

carry this disease are still found. Mexico continues to find 

babesiosis, so this buffer zone plays an important role in 

keeping ticks from spreading the disease back into the 

United States.

USDA works closely with the Texas Animal Health 

Commission (TAHC) to carry out cattle fever tick 

eradication efforts. USDA manages the permanent 

quarantine area, while TAHC facilitates temporary 

quarantines on infested premises in counties north of 

the permanent zone. Both agencies are involved with 

treatment and inspection activities, and they work out of 

joint offices in some locations.

PROTECTING U.S. CATTLE

FROM FEVER TICKS:

Cattle Fever Tick 

Eradication Program 

and Treatment Options

Photo Credits: All photos courtesy of USDA. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Issued December 2018

For More Information

If you have questions, contact our staff with the Cattle Fever Tick 

Eradication Program or Texas Animal Health Commission.

USDA APHIS Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program

120 San Francisco Ave.

Laredo, TX 78040

Email: feverticks@usda.gov

Phone: (956) 726-2228 

Texas Animal Health Commission (main office)

2105 Kramer Lane

Austin, TX 78758

Email: comments@tahc.texas.gov 

Phone: (512) 719-0700

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

APHIS 91-45-020
What You Need To Know 

About Treatments

If your premises is quarantined for cattle fever ticks, Federal 

and State animal health regulations require all of your livestock, 

including horses, to be treated. The treatment options will vary 

based on what animals you have and how you plan to use or move 

the animals. When your premises is quarantined, animal health 

officials will work with you to develop a herd plan.

In general, the treatment options mentioned below are currently 

available. USDA and TAHC are researching additional options for 

use in livestock and in wildlife; if proven to be safe and effective, 

these will be made available as well.

If you are looking to move or sell your animals out of a quarantined 

area, regulations spell out which treatments you need to complete 

and when you need to complete them. The options are more 

limited because of required treatment withdrawal periods. Animals 

moving within Texas must follow TAHC regulations. Animals leaving 

Texas for another State must follow State and USDA regulations.

All quarantined premises must have a herd plan in place, even if 

it is not signed. Please consult with State or Federal animal health 

officials when developing your herd plan and before treatment 

begins. This will help you determine which treatment protocol is 

best and ensure that you meet all requirements. 

Cattle Treatment Options 

OPTION 1 • Dipping Vats

Most producers treat their cattle by running them through a dipping 

vat every 14 days. This treatment uses the chemical coumaphos, 

which has no withdrawal period.

Dipping vats are located throughout the permanent quarantine area 

for ranchers to use. USDA personnel oversee the dipping vats to 

ensure they are used correctly to kill ticks.

If you cannot bring your herd to a public dipping vat due to 

distance, portable dipping vats may be available for large herds 

(more than 100 cattle). USDA personnel bring these dipping vats to 

your premises and oversee their use.

OPTION 2 • Spray Treatments

USDA or TAHC personnel can also bring a spray box to your 

location if you cannot or choose not to use the dipping vats. These 

treatments also use coumaphos and are done every 14 days.

Hand-held sprayers may be used on animals that are unable 

to enter the spray box due to size or physical condition. If you 

want to hand-spray more animals than deemed necessary by 

USDA or TAHC, you must assume responsibility for any additional 

treatments; this includes adhering to the coumaphos label 

requirements as well as all requirements set forth by TAHC and 

the Texas Department of Agriculture, which licenses pesticide 

applicators. In addition, the treatments must meet USDA standards 

for efficacy. 

OPTION 3 • Injectable Treatments

If animal health officials determine that your herd is eligible to 

use injectable treatments, USDA or TAHC personnel can provide 

injectable treatments at your premises. These treatments use 

doramectin and are given every 25–28 days. These animals may 

not move out of the quarantined area during the 35-day withdrawal 

period after their last injection.

Cattle Vaccine

All adult cattle in the permanent quarantine area must be 

vaccinated at least once a year with an anti-tick vaccine, in 

combination with any other treatments in your herd plan. USDA will 

come to your premises to provide the vaccine.

The vaccine will help reduce the number of ticks overall, but it is 

not 100% effective. In fact, there are two types of fever ticks, and 

the vaccine is more effective against one type of fever tick than the 

other. The vaccine is currently approved for cattle but is still being 

studied in horses. USDA is also researching additional vaccine 

options.

Horse Treatment Option 

There is only one treatment option approved for use in horses: a 

spray treatment with coumaphos. Horses can be treated every 14 

days. Animals that move infrequently should be treated when they 

move out of or back into quarantine. USDA or TAHC personnel 

provide treatments at designated locations and times to serve 

multiple owners or may bring the spray to your premises.

Wildlife Treatment Option 

There is only one treatment available for use specifically in whitetailed deer. Regulatory officials may feed deer ivermectin-treated 

corn, but only between the months of February through July. This 

allows for a 60-day withdrawal period before hunting season 

begins. USDA and TAHC manage this effort together.

Preventive Treatment

If your animals are not quarantined, you may choose to treat them 

preventively. If this is something you wish to do, contact USDA 

or TAHC for guidance about approved treatment options and 

frequencies.

How the Program Works

USDA or TAHC inspects all livestock within the 

permanent quarantine zone for ticks every year. USDA 

or TAHC inspectors also must treat, inspect, and certify 

all cattle as tick-free before they can move out of the 

quarantine zone to prevent ticks from spreading.

In addition, USDA and TAHC set up temporary 

quarantines as needed if the ticks are found outside 

of the permanent quarantine zone. These animals 

must also be treated and inspected before leaving 

quarantine. These treatments are discussed below. 

There are separate rules for releasing the temporary 

quarantines and returning the land to normal status; if 

you have questions about that process, please contact 

USDA or TAHC officials.

To help combat the spread of ticks, USDA also has a 

cadre of “tick riders,” or mounted patrol inspectors, 

who ride along the Texas/Mexico border looking for 

livestock that stray across the border. They round up any 

stray livestock they find, inspect them for ticks, and then 

treat them before returning them to their owners.