The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is offering a South Texas Tick Workshop on Oct. 22-23 in Weslaco. 

Closeup of a Lone Star tick. It is brown with a yellow spot in the middle of its back.
The South Texas Tick Workshop will include lectures and hands-on demonstrations and activities on Oct. 22-23 in Weslaco. (Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife).

The two-day workshop will be held in the Vegetable Building at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco, 2401 E. U.S. Highway 83, Weslaco. The event will take place from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the first day and 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the second day. 

The cost is $50, and online registration is available at https://tx.ag/TickWorkshop. 

About the course

In the U.S., tick-borne diseases are on the rise and more individuals are being exposed. This course will provide knowledge on how to identify ticks found in Texas, where they are generally encountered, the diseases they transmit and how to manage them. 

The course will include lectures and hands-on demonstrations and activities.

Speakers and topics

Day 1: 

  • Introduction to Tick Biology — Samantha Hays, Ph.D., postdoctoral research associate, Texas A&M Department of Entomology, Bryan-College Station.
  • Tick Identification, Amblyomma, Dermacentor — Hays.
  • Tick Identification, Rhipicephalus, Boophilus, Ixodes — Lauren Maestas, Ph.D., research ecologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, Agricultural Research Services, ARS, Cattle Fever Tick Unit, Kerrville.
  • Impact of Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases of Cattle — Becky Trout-Fryxell, Ph.D., assistant professor of medical and veterinary entomology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. 
  • Longhorn Ticks and Their Impact on Tennessee Cow-Calf — Trout-Fryxell.

Day 2

  • Tick-Borne Diseases of Texas — Sarah Maestas, Ph.D., assistant professor, School of Integrative Biological and Chemical Sciences, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Edinburg.
  • Tick Surveillance Techniques — S. Maestas.
  • Tick and Wildlife Ecology — Tammi Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor, Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Uvalde. 
  • Southwestern Ticks — Johnson.
  • The History of the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication — Don Thomas, Ph.D., research entomologist, USDA ARS Cattle Fever Tick Unit, Kerrville. 
  • Current Research on Cattle Fever Ticks — L. Maestas.
  • Integrated Tick Management — Sonja Swiger, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist and professor in the Department of Entomology, Stephenville.

For more information, contact Swiger at [email protected], or Susan Keith at 254-974-9446 or [email protected].

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