Processing

PROCESSING OF TICKS

Ticks collected can be identified to species level by

  • Boiling the ticks in 10% NaOH or 10% KOH to render the scutum transparent for 5 to 10 minutes
  • Wash the excess of NaOH in water
  • Dehydrate in ascending grades of alcohol (70%, 90% and absolute) – 5 minutes each
  • Clear in carbolic acid (5 min)
  • Mount in canada balsam – mount with the ventral side up to enable identification of the ticks
  • The commonly encountered ticks are the brevirostrates – Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides, Boophilus microplus and Haemaphysalis bispinosa while the longirostrate type includes Hyalomma species
Last modified: Tuesday, 6 July 2010, 10:32 AM