Abstract: Compositions of either the Rm86Texas protein from a Texas outbreak strain of the southern cattle fever tick, Rhipicephalus microplus, or a nucleic acid construct incorporating a nucleic acid sequence encoding this Rm86Texas protein, are effective for eliciting a protective immune response in non-bovine animals. The Rm86Texas protein is immunogenic and can be administered as a protein vaccine, or in the alternative, the nucleic acid construct can be utilized as a DNA vaccine. Induction of the immune response significantly reduces or eliminates the infestation of treated, non-bovine animals with ticks. Moreover, as ticks are vectors of a variety of pathogens, the reduction in the incidence of tick infestation afforded by the vaccines may concurrently reduce the incidence of diseases caused by these pathogens in susceptible animals.