Understanding the Tick
Ticks are common parasites that are found all over the country. They live in all sorts of environments and can feed on the blood of pets and people alike. They are attracted to motion, warm places, and carbon dioxide. This makes it easy for them to identify an available host.
Most species of ticks go through at least three different host animals during their lifetime. During the approximately two years they are alive, the go through several developmental stages, taking a blood meal at each stage. The stages include:
Egg – An adult female tick lays between 100 and 6000 eggs. These tick eggs take about two weeks to hatch.
Larval stage – Once a tick egg hatches, the baby tick is called a larva. Larval ticks almost immediately begin to look for their first blood meal by moving into a more open area. Here they find a host, often a bird or rodent to jump on. Once they have fed, they mature into a nymph and fall back into the environment.
Nymph stage – Nymph ticks often go dormant over the winter months. As the weather warms they begin to search for a host to feed on. Nymphs often feed on pets or people. After feeding, the tick becomes an adult and falls back into the environment.
Adult – An adult tick begins to look for a new host to feed on. It will take another blood meal and mate on its new host.
Ticks and Pets
While no one wants to see a parasite on their pet, finding an unexpected hitch-hiker is not the worst part of the tick. Ticks can also carry several infectious diseases that can cause fever, joint pain, lethargy, and other complications.
These diseases include:
- Lyme disease
- Anaplasmosis
- Ehrlichiosis
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
These diseases often occur some time after the exposure to the tick and can be difficult to diagnose due to their vague clinical signs.
Thankfully, several very effective tick preventatives exist. These products are great at killing ticks before they can transmit these nasty diseases, which generally takes at least 24 hours of attachment. Currently, however, there is nothing available that totally prevents ticks from attaching to pets in order to feed.
If You Find a Tick
It is important to check your pet for ticks frequently, especially after they have been in an area outdoors where ticks are found. Be sure to check the head, ears, neck, feet, and underbelly.
If you do find a tick on your pet, it is best to remove it promptly. This decreases the chances of any disease being transmitted. In order to remove a tick from your pet:
- Move your pet into a well-lit area, asking for someone to help hold the animal if possible
- Put on a pair of latex or rubber gloves to protect yourself from tick borne diseases
- Grasp the tick as close to your pet’s body as possible with a pair of tweezers
- Slowly and steadily pull the tick outward without twisting or jerking
- Avoid squeezing the tick as this can push the stomach contents containing disease-causing organisms into your pet
- Place the tick in isopropyl alcohol to kill it and consider keeping it for identification purposes should your pet become ill (burning the tick will also kill it, but pretty much nothing else will).
- Please note that flushing a tick down the toilet or throwing it in the trash will not kill it.
You may clean the area where the tick was with a little disinfectant. Pay attention to the area over the next few days. A little irritation is normal. But, if the area becomes increasingly inflamed and red, or if you are not sure if you were able to remove the entire tick, it is best to bring your pet in for an exam.
Despite our best efforts, ticks still manage to attach to our pets (and sometimes even us). And while it is important to remove them promptly, using recommended tick preventatives can also help give you peace of mind. If you have any questions, or would like to learn more about ticks and pets, we are happy to help. Give us a call any time.