Veterinary Pests and their Management

Pests of veterinary importance are unique in their associations with animals hosts. Unlike the many pests that utilize plants or plant materials for their survival, pests of veterinary importance feed on hosts that can for the most part move from place to place. Thus, the hosts can live in a variety of habitats, move from one habitat to another during a daily cycle, and persist through a variety of climatic conditions during an annual cycle. The host range can be relatively small and associated with a central nest or burrow, or it can be practically endless in the case of herds of range cattle or migratory antelope. Likewise, the range of the pest can be limited geographically to certain locations, climates, or altitudes. Conversely, the pest can be cosmopolitan and affect similar hosts on almost every continent of the planet. Specifically, highly specialized pests can be limited to one or two host species, such as the sheep ked, Melophagus ovinus, a widely distributed parasite of...