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Ten Things You Need to Know About Ticks

When it comes to ticks, we all know they are a problem. You may not know a few things about them though that you need to consider.

 

  1. There are four stages you should know about. They are the egg, the larva, the nymph, and the adult. All these stages will need a host in order to feed. Otherwise, they will die. Most ticks die before they can find a host.
  2. Ticks, like spiders, are arachnids. They are more related to spiders than they are to other animals. They have many different stages as well. Ticks have six legs and not eight, but they grow more with age.
  3. It can take up to three years for a tick to become an adult.
  4. Ticks can be small and can look as though they are specs on the skin. You need to work with your vet to get the best medicine out there for your pet.
  5. Ticks suck blood in order to exist – and that is blood off any kind of animal. They will feed off people, reptiles, birds or anything with blood. There are some ticks that will only feed on one species.
  6. There are over 900 different kinds of ticks out there as well. These are found all over the world and can cause many issues. There are also diseases that can be shared by people and by cats and dogs.
  7. You will find ticks mostly in dogs and not cats. They are easy to prevent with the use of products that you can add to your cats and dogs. You also need to make sure that you are using the best products. There are some that will not be appropriate for all cats and dogs.
  8. Ticks are not born with diseases; they get them when they are feeding. That may mean that there are many other kinds of issues that arise as well from different kinds of feeding. Most tick prevention medicines will kill a tick faster than they are able to share a disease.
  9. Pets and people can get diseases from ticks and this is a very big problem. It is important that you never allow a tick to spread the disease to your entire house.
  10. Never attempt to remove a tick with your hands and never twist a tick to remove it. Make sure you have something to work with like tweezers and that you can pull it out gently. Make sure you leave no part of the tick in the pet and remove the head.

 

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