With mild winters and spring moisture a threat to your pet increases …. ticks. In the mountains and surrounding areas ticks are in the bushes in record numbers waiting to pounce on you and your pets. Ticks crawl on and attach to the skin of their hosts in the nymph, larva, and adult stages. They then feed on the host’s blood. They leave each host between stages to molt and grow. Wildlife can actually develop blood loss anemia with heavy infestations. Ticks are attracted to hosts by motion, changes in light, warmth, and increased carbon dioxide levels. Tick bites are painless but local irritation and infections can occur. Salivary secretions of neurotoxins may cause diseases such as tick paralysis Ticks are carriers of many diseases infecting people and their pets, including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Tick-borne pathogens may affect virtually any organ system. T icks should be removed quickly to limit time available for neurotoxin or pathogen transmission. Cats, being fastidious groomers are quite efficient at removing ticks but dogs are less so. Check your dog thoroughly after a romp through the bush. Ticks are smooth, round or oval lumps attached by a tiny mouth to the skin. They can be difficult to see, especially on dark or thick-coated dogs. Grasp the tick close to the skin with fine pointed tweezers and gently pull free.

Preventing Tick-Borne Disease If your dog is outside regularly, ask your veterinarian about the Lyme disease vaccine. (There's no vaccine for cats yet.) Watch for itching, pain, appetite loss, lethargy, fever, swollen joints, or lameness. If you suspect a tick-borne disease, see the veterinarian pronto. With early diagnosis, antibiotics generally work. The illustration at right shows proper tick removal procedures. Using fine-point tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull gently. Make sure you've cleaned your hands, the bite site, and the tweezers with disinfectant. You may want to wear latex gloves. The Lyme Disease Foundation, Hartford, Conn., suggests: Apply tick-killing pesticides to your pets. Treat your pet's environment with tick-killing pesticides. Mow grass regularly. Avoid allowing your pet in grassy, wooded or beach areas, unless you take appropriate precautions. While in areas of tick exposure, examine pets closely for ticks on a daily basis, especially around the head and inside the ears. Remove ticks immediately. This is important because it can take hours for an infected tick to transmit disease. Using fine-point tweezers, grasp the tick where the mouth parts are embedded into the skin and pull gently. Make sure you've cleaned your hands, the bite site, and the tweezers with disinfectant. You may want to wear latex gloves. Place the tick in a small container, like a pill vial. Label the container with the date, pet's name, type of animal, and your name, address, and phone number. Call your veterinarian about having the tick analyzed for type and possible diseases it may transmit. Never remove a tick with your fingers, as the squeezing further injects infectious material. Never try to burn a tick off or to smother it with petroleum jelly or nail polish, as these methods don't work. In addition, take these steps to protect yourself when in woods and grasslands: Wear long-sleeved shirts tight at the wrists, long pants tight at the ankles and tucked in socks, and shoes covering the whole foot. Wear light-colored clothes that show ticks easily. On clothing, use a repellent containing permethrin. However, do not apply it to clothing while it is being worn, and allow the clothing to thoroughly dry before wearing. On skin, use a repellent, but don't overdo it. Too much bug spray can cause breathing difficulty, especially in children.

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