Combatting ticks: The power of prescribed burning in reducing tick numbers and preventing pathogen transmission to humans and animals

Ticks, as obligatory blood-feeding ectoparasites, are capable of transmitting pathogens to both humans and animals. Ticks also significantly reduce livestock productivity. Controlling tick populations using chemicals poses a challenge because ticks spend most of their life cycle off the animal host. The intentional burning of grasslands (prescribed burning) has been proposed as a potential method for decreasing tick abundance, however, its efficacy varies depending on the ecosystem and needs further evaluation as a tick control mechanism for livestock. This study aimed to assess the impact of seasonal prescribed burning on tick populations in the Kansas Flint Hills. Pastures were burned annually in the spring, summer, or fall four times in a five-year period. Ticks were collected biweekly from March to November in 2023 and from March to April in 2024 and identified morphologically utilizing a stereoscope and published keys. Results demonstrated significantly lower tick populations in fire-treated areas compared to unburned areas (P< 0.0001). Furthermore, the timing of burns influenced tick abundance, with spring-burned areas exhibiting notably fewer ticks than those burned in summer (P=0.0018) and fall (P=0.0004). These findings suggest that repeated annual burning of grazing areas holds promise as an effective strategy for reducing tick abundance in cattle pastures in the Flint Hills.