Cattle ticks transmit the organisms that cause tick fever, which are serious blood parasite diseases of cattle. This disease, too, can be lethal to susceptible animals. Others may suffer severe loss of condition. Hides of infested cattle are damaged by tick bites, and their value is reduced. In severe cases the hides may be unsaleable.
Horses also suffer tick worry and loss of blood from cattle tick infestation.
They rub and bite affected areas, causing severe skin lesions. After a period, however, horses develop strong resistance to cattle tick. The cattle tick has little effect on the other hosts. In the Northern Territory cattle ticks can be seen at any time of the year, but mainly occur during the wet season and early dry season. All three parasitic stages are generally present on infested cattle, but the easiest to identify is the adult stage.