B. bigemina and B. bovis are responsible for bovine babesiosis which is ranked as the most economically important arthropod-transmitted illness in cattle.

However, due to the centuries-long movement of cattle around Europe, R. microplus has dramatically spread from its original range, making it to the United States between 4 and 5 centuries ago.

[9][10] R. microplus is generally found between 32°N and 32°S, a region strongly overlapping with major cattle breeding countries and territories.

[9] Nearly a cosmopolitan species, Asian blue tick is found specifically in Costa Rica, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, Cote D'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U.S.), Zambia and Zimbabwe.

[13] Some veterinary science research suggests that R. microplus could become established in the currently temperate countries once their autumns and winters become warmer by about 2–2.75 °C (3.60–4.95 °F).

The life cycle begins with an adult female which feeds for approximately 7 days before entering a 4-day pre-oviposition period.

[15] Management efforts in the United States began after R. microplus was deemed responsible for an estimated $63 billion in damages during the early 19th century.

A control campaign began in 1906 and by 1943 it was considered complete, having eradicated most of the tick population other than a small region along the Southern US border.

[9][10] In the modern day, the standard form of control is spraying of acaricides: a type of pesticide that targets ticks and mites.

If timed correctly, the larvae in an area only become viable after the cattle have moved, leading to loss of that R. microplus generation.

However, the amount of time a pasture needs to remain empty means it isn't generally economically viable for farmers.

The research identified bacteria like Bacillus thuringiensis, Serratia marcescens, and Staphylococcus spp., as well as nematodes (Steinernema spp.