Tick Control has been a priority topic for the Moorland Management Best Practice Group. This two part guide provides information on the risks that ticks pose to wildlife and identifies a number of tick control methods which can help to reduce the tick presence in a moorland.

Ticks and tick-borne diseases can cause major economic losses in both upland farming enterprises and moorlands managed for red grouse. Controlling ticks assists hill livestock production and can reduce animal welfare concerns i.e. irritation, anaemia and risk of disease and can improve ground nesting bird survival such as waders and red grouse by reducing tick biting rates and diseases. Ticks can also be a threat to public health through the risks and effects of the diseases they transmit, such as Lyme disease, a bacterial infection and tick borne Encephalitis a viral infection causing meningitis.

The guidance covers topics such as;

• Tick lifecycles

• Tick counting

• Louping ill

• Treatments in livestock and wild animals