Dry and fresh Zanthoxylum fruits are effective in controlling ticks’ infestation in cattle

Abstract

Acaricides are used to control ticks that have negative impact on health of animal and public health—and contributes to development of resistance to drugs. Therefore, alternative environmentally friendly herbal plants and shrubs are becoming a key tool in controlling ticks. However, in Bhutan, this remains unexplored. Thus, we aimed to determine the effectiveness of topical application of fresh and dry Zanthoxylum fruits to control tick infestation in cattle. We sampled 60 cattle including exotic (Jersey Cross and Holstein Friesian) and indigenous cattle. The experimental animals were assigned with T₁ (fresh Zanthoxylum): 250 gm, T₂ (dry Zanthoxylum): 250 gm and T₃ (deltamethrin) 10%: 2 ml in 1000 ml of water. The total study ran for 45 days with different intervals of 7 days. We found that both dry and fresh Zanthoxylum were effective in reducing ticks’ infestation in cattle. However, fresh Zanthoxylum was more effective than dry Zanthoxylum. Moreover, the use of fresh Zanthoxylum had a similar effect as deltamethrin. Further, the residual effect of both dry and fresh Zanthoxylum and deltamethrin lasted even after 21 days. No significant difference was observed in tick count in sex, age, housing and breed. Therefore, dry and fresh Zanthoxylum fruits can be a suitable alternative to deltamethrin, locally abundant and eco-friendly in nature.