BE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR THESE PESTY PARASITES!!!

TICKS

Ticks are skin parasites that feed on the blood of their hosts.  Ticks like motion, warm temperatures from body heat, and the carbon dioxide exhaled mammals, which is why they are attracted to such hosts as dogs, cats, rodents, rabbits, cattle, small animals, etc.  The bite itself in not usually painful, but the parasite can transmit diseases and cause tick paralysis, which is why tick control is so important.  It takes several hours for an attached tick to transmit disease, so owners can usually prevent disease transmission to their pets by following a regular schedule to look for and remove ticks.

Tick Life Cycle

Most types of ticks require three hosts during a two-year lifespan.  Each tick stage requires a blood meal before it can reach the next stage.  Hard ticks have four life stages: egg, larva, nymph and adult.  Larvae and nymphs must feed before they detach and molt.  Adult female ticks can engorge, increasing their weight by more that 100 fold.  After detaching, an adult female tick can lay approximately 3,000 eggs.

During the egg-laying stage, ticks lay eggs in secluded areas with dense vegetation.  The eggs hatch within two weeks.  Some species of ticks lay 100 eggs at a time, others lay 3,000 to 6,00 per batch.  Once the eggs hatch, the ticks are in the larval stage, during which time the larvae move into grass and search for their first blood meal.  At this stage, they will attach themselves for several days to their first host, usually a bird or rodent, and then fall onto the ground.  The nymph stage begins after the first blood meal in completed.  Nymphs remain inactive during winter and start moving again in spring.  Nymphs find a host, usually a rodent, pet, or human.  Nymphs are generally the size of a freckle.  After this blood meal, ticks fall off the host and move into the adult stage.  Throughout the autumn, male and female adults find a host, which is again usually a rodent, pet, or human.  The adult female feeds for 8 to 12 days.  The female mates while still attached to her host.  Both ticks fall off, and the males die.  The female remains inactive through the winter and in the spring lays her eggs in a secluded place.  If adults cannot find a host animal in the fall, they can survive secluded until spring.

Finding and Removing Ticks

The best way to find ticks on your pet is to run your hands over the whole body.   Check for ticks every time your pet comes back from an area you know is or may be inhabited by ticks.  Ticks attach most frequently around the pet’s head, ears, neck, and feet, but are by no means restricted to the areas.

The safest way to remove a tick is to use rubbing alcohol and a pair of tweezers.  Dab rubbing alcohol in the tick, and then use the tweezers to take hold of the tick as close to the pet’s skin as you can; pull slowly and steadily.  Try not to leave the tick’s head embedded in the pet’s skin.  Don’t squeeze the tick because it might inject some disease-causing organisms, such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, or other agents, in to the pet during the process.  Risk of disease transmission to you, while removing ticks, is low but you should wear gloves if you wish to be perfectly safe.  Do not apply hot matches, petroleum jelly, turpentine, nail polish, or just rubbing alcohol alone (the tick must be pulled after application of alcohol) because these methods do not remove the ticks and they are not safe on your pet.  Once you have removed a live tick, do not dispose of it until you have killed it.

Watch for Infection and Diseases

After you pull a tick off, there will be a local area of inflammation that could look red, crusty, or scabby.  The tick’s attachment causes irritation.  The site can get infected; if the pet is scratching at it, it is more apt to get infected.  A mild antibiotic, such as over-the-counter triple antibiotic ointment can help, but usually is not necessary.  The inflammation should go down within a week. If it stays crusty and inflamed longer than a week, it might have become infected and you should seek veterinary care.

Ticks can transmit diseases to pets and humans that the ticks contract from a previous host.  Ticks can parasitize many different mammal species, birds, and reptiles.  Lyme disease is one that most people have heard about, but ehrlichiosis is a possibility is a possibility; it is a rickettsial disease, an its progression from an acute to chronic stage can be prevented by early treatments.  Babesiosis causes red blood cell destruction and anemia.  Rocky Mountain spotted fever is the most prevelant rickettsial disease in humans.

Although ticks can transmit disease, they are usually nothing more than a nuisance.  The best approach is to prevent them from embedding, and once embedding, to remove them quickly.  As long as you stay on top of the situation, your pets should cruise right through the tick season with no problems.

Prevention and Treatment

Using a topical flea and tick prevention monthly on your dog and/or cat such as Frontline or placing a Preventic collar on your dog is recommended. 

We recommend seeking professional exterminators for treatments of your home and yards.