Ticks in the Cariboo
| Critter care |
By Sarah Eaton, DVM, DACT
Ticks are small, hard-bodied insects that live the brush and tall grasses. They climb up or down the hairs on a pet’s coat and bite into the skin.
Once having bitten, the ticks burrow into the skin and begin sucking blood. The blood ingestion causes the tick body to expand; some ticks can become grape-sized.
On small animals (cats and dogs) the most common ticks found in the Cariboo are the Dermacentor species. These ticks can cause health problems by sucking blood and causing anemia (low red blood cells), hair loss and wounds due to scratching, as well as transmitting diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever or Lyme disease.
Low numbers of ticks may be well-tolerated by a healthy cat or dog; but old, young, and ill animals can get very sick from very few ticks. In addition, a single tick can cause a disease called tick paralysis. In tick paralysis, a toxin secreted in the tick’s saliva causes the dog to slowly become paralyzed from the hind end forward. Treatment is simple; tick removal and supportive care if needed while the animal recovers.
There are different ways to remove and prevent tick infections on cats and dogs. The least-expensive method is to check your pet each time it comes in from outside for ticks. Non-attached ticks are small, about the size of a ballpoint pen tip, and can be hard to find. Once the ticks attach they begin to enlarge and may be easier to feel.
On cats and dogs ticks like to attach to areas that are difficult for the pet to scratch. They often attach around the ears and the tail.
Other treatments to remove ticks include topical parasiticides which either repel or kill ticks. These topical treatments have to be applied to the animal every 2-4 weeks during tick season.
Horses and cattle can also become infected with ticks, and generally the first sign seen is frequent itching and hair loss. Ticks will attach anywhere on cattle; on horses they prefer to attach to the sheath or mammary glands and around the rectum. Ticks can become a severe problem in calves and foals because they can be so infected with ticks that they become anemic. In horses, ticks can be manually removed. Treatment for large animals is generally dusting with an anti-tick powder. This powder helps to repel the ticks for a period of time but often needs to be reapplied.
Ticks from animals can transfer onto and bite people as well. Keeping ticks off your pets will help to reduce the number of ticks they bring into the yard and the house. In addition, pets can act as sentinels for owners to alert them that they are living, working, or walking in a tick-infested area and should wear protective clothing and check themselves for ticks.
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