24 



30 years ago. It is also found along the Murray River , in the 

 north of Victoria and other parts of that State, in JS'ew South 

 Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. In the colder and 

 wetter districts the tick does not thrive. In the dry far North 

 they multiply rapidly and live in comparatively exposed but dry 

 situations. The habits of the tick in South Australia are veri- 

 similar to those of the tick in South Africa and elsewhere. 



In the author's opinion the Australian tick is Argas persicus. 



The complaint is made that even experienced poultry breeders 

 are very ignorant of the habits of the pest, even if their yards 

 and houses are infested. Many do not even know its appearance, 

 and others insist that in the larval form the tick is a distinct 

 species from the adult which they term a " poultry bug," from 

 its similarity in appearance to the ordinary bed bug. Many 

 poultry breeders do not visit their fowl-houses at night; the tick 

 is nocturnal in its habits, and although without apparent organs 

 of vision, dislikes light and promptly retreats when the fowl- 

 house is entered at night with a light. The adult tick is never 

 found on poultry in the day time. The larval forms are A-ery 

 minute ('4 to '5 mm.), almost colourless and easily mistaken 

 for one of the small fowl mites with which they congregate in 

 cracks and crevices. These larval ticks climb the perches and 

 walls of the poultry-house and so reach the roosting fowls, to 

 which they remain firmly attached until gorged with blood. In 

 the day time they hide themselves in cracks and crevices, hence 

 the practice of building poultry-houses of old timber is bad 

 because the cracks afford shelter for the ticks. 



The author remarks that the practice of building fowl-houses in 

 contact with dwellings or outside domestic offices is thoroughly 

 bad, in-as-much as houses and out-houses thus come to be badly 

 infested. The presence of ticks can generally be detected in 

 masonry and brickwork by the dark marks round the entrance 

 to the cracks and holes caused by their excreta. Ticks may be 

 carried about by the poultry themselves, by feathers used by other 

 birds for their nests, by boxes, and even by agricultural 

 machinery and A-ehicles. The author says that he once saw half a 

 gallon of ticks shaken out of a stripping machine brought from 

 a country town for repairs. 



The regulations made by the South Australian Government 

 as to the introduction of poultry or their removal from one place 

 to another are quoted at length. 



To eradicate the j)oultry tich. — As little woodwork as possible 

 should be used in the construction of poultry-houses and it should 

 be sawn and free from cracks. Galvanised iron makes the best 

 house. In an infested yard the material of the old house should 

 be burned and the ground on which it stood saturated with 

 kerosene. This is important, as ticks have been known to take 

 refuge in the soil when dry. If possible the new fowl-house should 

 be erected on new ground. All perches should be so arranged 

 as to be easily dismantled, so that the ticks may not lodge where 

 two perches touch. 



The author has for years recommended the free application of 

 kerosene as a most effective agent for the destruction of ticks. 



