The Fowl Tick

ONE of the most serious handicaps to poultry raising in the Southwestern States is the fowl tick, or blue bug {Argm rmneahis). It is a persistent bloodsucker, and its presence in a poultry house in considerable numbers results in weakened stock, fewer eggs, and emaciation and not infrequently death of some of the fowls. A form of paralysis associated with this tick also afl'ects many fowls, some of which die. The tick was first found in southern Texas; it probably occurred in southern New Mexico, Arizona, and California many years ago. More recently it has become established in Florida, audit has spread noii^hward in the Southwestern Statos so that it is now found in about two-thirds of California and Arizona, and the southwestern half of Oklahoma. Isolated infestations have occurred in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Nevada, and Utah. There is abundant opportunity for the tick to be shipped about the country because of its habit of remaining attached to fowls for .several days and of hiding in crates and other places. If it were not for the adverse effect of cold and damp climates, it would no doubt by now have spread over the entire country.