Spring is well underway, and amongst other seasonal veterinary problems, the Spring Rise of ticks is in full swing. Ticks are tiny blood sucking parasites, closely related to spiders. They have complicated life cycles, and are not very active for much of the year. They lurk, sleeping, in the undergrowth.
Spring and Fall Rises
In the Spring and Fall, the so-called 'Rises' happen: there is a sudden surge in tick numbers and activity. Thousands of pinhead-sized tick larvae climb up on grass stems and other vegetation, and wait for a suitable animal to stroll past. They wave their legs towards any passing creatures, and 'hitch a lift' as the animal brushes against them. They then clamber up to a suitably succulent piece of skin, and bury their needle-like mouth parts under the surface of the skin, into a juicy blood vessel. They spend the next few weeks sucking blood, and they swell up from pin-head sized to pea sized or bigger. At this stage, they relax their grip and tumble off the animal into the undergrowth again. They go through a few repeat cycles, with moults in between, and finally, they become adult ticks and they mate. The adult females go through the same blood-sucking, swelling-up phase, but when they fall off this time, they lay hundreds of eggs before collapsing exhausted and dying. The eggs hatch into young tick larvae, and the life cycle starts again.
Ticks love the tropics
Ticks are fascinating creatures. I spent six months studying them in Africa, as a young vet. In the warmth of the African climate, ticks thrive. They are bigger and more numerous than in the ticks of temperate climates like Ireland and the United Kingdom, where I now live, and African ticks carry nasty diseases.
I used to see cattle with masses of ticks hanging off their ears, like big bunches of plump grapes. We collected ticks for our studies, like plucking grapes from a vine, and we ended up with buckets full of them.
Ticks are quieter in cooler zones
Ticks aren't so fond of the Irish climate. They can affect wild animals such as hedgehogs and birds, as well as domesticated creatures. Although they can carry diseases in cattle and sheep, they will only rarely pass infections onto dogs and cats. More commonly, a pet owner will come in to me complaining of the sudden appearance of a 'small tumour'. Swollen ticks often look just like warts. However, close examination, using a magnifying glass if needed, will reveal the tick's tiny bristle-like legs sticking out at the base of the 'tumour'.
What to do if you find a tick on your pet
Once you have recognised that your pet has a tick, what do you do? Ticks often irritate dogs and cats, and it is usually best to remove them. My personal preferred technique is first to kill the tick, with flea spray or by coating it in a little vegetable oil and leaving it for a few hours (this blocks its breathing holes).
Once the tick is dead, I then pull it out, by pulling steadily and gently with a pair of tweezers, being careful not to twist or move sideways. Usually the entire tick comes out, and I check this by examining it with a magnifying glass.
There is also a special tick removing tool, called an “O’Tom Tick Remover” which is even easier and safer than using tweezers.
If the head of the tick breaks off as the tick is pulled out (and this can happen very easily), an abscess often forms. This can look red and swollen at first, and can develop into a large lump later. Any such reactions should be bathed twice daily in mildly salty warm water. If they don't settle down within a few days, you may need to visit your vet for further treatment.
What about the health risk to humans?
Ticks can carry a common human disease called Lyme Disease (dogs can be affected too, but it’s very rare). Pet owners should be aware of this risk to themselves, wearing gloves when handling ticks, and disposing of ticks that have been removed carefully (e.g. throwing into a fire, or squashing between two pieces of paper then discarding in the rubbish bin).
How to protect your pets against ticks
If your pet regularly picks up ticks, talk to your veterinarian about how to prevent them: long lasting tablets, certain spot-on products, and also some medicated collars can all be used to prevent your pet from picking them up in the first place.