10 Facts To Know About Ticks. Dealing with ticks can be tiresome and frustrating especially when you deal with them frequently. No pet should have go through the pain, discomfort and also disease that ticks bring.
Here are 10 facts to know about ticks
1. Ticks are not insects
They are classified as arachnids or relatives of spiders and also mites. Ticks are next in importance only after mosquitoes amongst other arthropods as they are vectors* of bacterial, viral and protozoan disease agents.
2. They feed primarily on the blood of their host
Ticks are very tiny parasites that feed off the blood of their host – birds, dogs, cats, humans. So, this means they are of veterinary and public health importance. They are called obligate parasites as there only means of feeding and survival is dependent on feeding off their host. All stages except the eggs need to feed off their host for survival
3. They have four life stages
Namely egg, larvae (infant), nymph (juvenile) and adult. The nymph only becomes an adult when it finds a suitable host and therefore it can take about 3 years for a tick to mature to the adult stage and reproduce.
4. They can cause skin disease
Tick bite can cause damage to their host’s skin, like skin irritation, redness, inflammation, itching and also self-trauma from the discomfort they cause through them feeding and the numerous movements on their host’s body.
5. Their saliva contains toxins
Tick bites are very harmful not just because of the skin diseases but also because their saliva contains neurotoxins which are released when they feed on their host. This neurotoxin can cause diseases like tick paralysis in the host animal (also in humans although rare), systemic infections, hypersensitivity reactions etc.
6. Brown Dog tick
Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) is the most common species of ticks worldwide. It is responsible for many disease-causing pathogens in dogs including Ehrlichia canis which causes canine Ehrlichiosis and Babesia canis which is responsible for canine Babesiosis.
7. They mature faster in summertime
Ticks mature faster in summertime, because this is when there is more outdoor play, and it consequentially leads to more dogs getting infested by them.
8. They cause anaemia
Ticks, once attached to their hosts begin to feed voraciously and for a long time and this increases the chances of their host losing a lot of blood. They can remain attached to their host feeding for days and also the more ticks that infest your pet, the more they are prone to anaemia.
9. Dogs are their most preferred host
Tick infestations are more common in dogs than cats and they are easier to prevent as there are more FDA-approved products to control them on dogs than for cats. There is also no age preference. Ticks can feed on both the young and also old of their host dog.
10. They are best control with tick and flea prevention
Never remove a tick with your bare hands or kill them on your pet. They can also be hard to find, and it is best that you provide them with prescription tick and also flea prevention.
*Vector: a living organism that transmits an infectious agent from an infected animal to a human or another animal.
10 Facts To Know About Ticks
