Studies on acaricide resistance in Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus against synthetic prethroids by adult immersion test with a discriminating dose

Ticks and tick-borne diseases cause major economic losses affecting many domestic animals in tropical and subtropical countries including India. Synthetic pyrethroids particularly deltamethrin and cypermethrin have been used extensively to control Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus in most parts of Punjab, India for the past decade leading to tick populations resistant against both the acaricides. Ticks (R. microplus) were collected from dairy farms at Haibbowal Dairy Complex, Ludhiana, Punjab and were subjected to adult immersion test with a discriminating dose (AITDD) against deltamethrin and cypermethrin. Results revealed a very high degree of resistance against deltamethrin (96.67%) and cypermethrin (93.33%) indicating need for adoption of alternative tick control strategy.