Bug Tip Tuesday – Tick Facts for Your Pet

Ticks are a serious danger to your pets.  Learn about Ticks so you know what you are looking for after a walk with Fido.

• Ticks are arachnids. Meaning, they are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than insects.
• Ticks have four life stages: egg, larva (infant), nymph (immature), and adult (mature).
• There about 850 tick species, some of which are capable of transmitting diseases such as Lyme disease, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
• Ticks feed on the blood of their host — humans, birds, reptiles, and wild and domestic mammals.
• Ticks may appear as a small dark speck on your pet’s fur.
• Tick infestations are more common in dogs than cats.
• Ticks are generally not born with disease agents. They acquire them during feeding and pass them along onto other animals during subsequent feedings.
• Pets may contract multiple diseases from a single tick bite.
• The brown dog tick and the American dog tick are the most common carriers of disease among dogs.
• Never remove a tick with your bare hand. Instead, using tweezers, grasp the tick close to the skin and pull gently.