Spring Means Tick Season

Some interesting facts we all need to know about ticks.

- it typically takes less than 48 hours for a tick to transmit disease to your pet. Ask us about parasite control!
- the lone star tick transmits Ehrlihcia ewingii and Ehrlichia chaffeensis to dogs and people. Not good. Keep pets safe!
- although fertility varies between species of ticks, one female tick can lay approximately 5K eggs.
- there's no place like…anywhere year round for a tick to call home (wooded areas, meadows, homes, kennels, backyards…
- limiting your pet’s exposure to ticks is crucial. If you wait until you see ticks, it’s too late
- repelling ticks is important! If a tick can't insert their mouth parts into the skin, they can't transmit infections.
- one white-tailed deer can support more than 450,000 ticks in a year. And those munchers want to get on your pet, too.
- even though tick season usually runs from April to November, infection can happen year-round
- warm weather is just around the corner. If you’ve taken a break from tick preventative, it’s time to start again
- since signs of tick-borne disease are difficult to recognize in both pets and people, simple preventative measures are key.

Two preventative measures I have found to be very important are -
1) Whenever I take a walk (especially if it is in the woods),I will immediately check my dogs for any ticks. By doing this quick scan I hope to catch any ticks before they have enough time to burrow down and bite and 2) I check myself and my family members (humans and animals) at last once daily.I try to make it a part of my evening routine. Remember, timing is everything when it comes to transmission.The more proactive you are, the less likely you are to come down with one of these tick borne disease.