Ticked Off!

If you have ever owned a dog, it is likely that at some point you and your pet will be plagued by one of the most common vermin known to canines – the tick. These small, wingless, external parasites are blood-sucking pests that target not just dogs, but also other domestic pets, wild animals, birds, and even humans.

Ticks feed by sucking the blood of their hosts. They have a device in their mouth that allows them to anchor themselves firmly in place while sucking blood. Forcefully pulling a tick out from under the skin can leave the head behind causing allergies.Ticks are a common vermin because they can be an annoyance, cause harm due to their blood feeding activities and they transmit many pathologic organisms.

Ticks breed though the year depending on the host availability but mostly the tick season is the lag end of the summers and through the rains in general. A decline normally occurs during the heat of the summer. You can find ticks in warm, damp and moist areas such as a yard, a garden or the dog park.

Treatment and Prevention

A) Manual Tick Removal:

The most basic method if the infestation is not very heavy. Quick removal of ticks will help prevent tick borne diseases, because the tick must remain attached to the dog’s body for at least one day before the disease can be transmitted. Care must be taken when removing a tick because forcefully pulling a tick out from under the skin often leaves the head behind. Careless squeezing of the tick may also force any bacteria from the tick into the bloodstream.

The recommended process to remove a tick is as follows:

• Do not use your fingers to remove a tick, use tweezers or a special tick removal instrument. Make sure you grasp the tick as near to the skin as possible
• Bend the tick on its back and pull gently but firmly, steadily and straight – no jerking or twisting movements.To kill the tick, place it in alcohol.
• Clean the bite wound with an antibiotic ointment. After removing a tick there may be some swelling, due to the tick’s toxic saliva, which can take up to one week to disappear. In some instances permanent scarring may also occur. Redness and allergies created by tick saliva often require allergy treatment.

B) Use of External Medication:

A number of shampoos, dusting powders, tick collars, sprays and spot-ons, as well as bathing dips are available for control and treatment on your dog.

Since many of these treatments involve harsh chemicals, they can be harmful to pets and to humans and so should only be used after approval of a qualified veterinarian.

Ayurvedic products, especially neem-based products are also popular due to their lesser side effects.  Neem leaf extract baths can be used as a regular bathing formula. This is known to help in tick reduction in the long run. Do keep in mind that the neem leaf extract is bitter in taste and dogs that are compulsive lickers can vomit after their bath if they lick it.

Home care

Controlling ticks is by far the most important step in the control of tick borne diseases. This is achieved by breaking the life cycle of the ticks as follows:

The control of ticks is a two-sided process – controlling the outdoor environment – the yard and the kennel and controlling the ticks on a dog.

• Clear any tall grass from the yard; remove leaves and clear brush, spray insecticides over the area monthly (mostly applied as control measure in dogs housed in kennels).
• Destruction of the tick eggs by splashing the kennels or areas of tick presence in between the cracks etc., with salt water in order to dehydrate the eggs (mostly applied as control measure in dogs housed in kennels).
• Frequently wash the dog’s bedding, apply insecticide to likely areas in order to kill the ticks.
• Remember that ticks can only crawl so apply insecticide to the edges of wall and flooring, and carpets in order to deal with them as they try to crawl higher also spray insecticides over any cracks in windows or doors, mopping with insecticides can also be done.
• Remember most of these chemicals can be harmful to your pets as well and should be used only after approval of the veterinarian