'Bugs News

Our basset hound Minnie was a tick "magnet" . She went for a walk everyday in a grassy/wooded area near our home and liked to check out all manner of rodent holes and such. If we didn't treat her with a flea and tick medication (see below) she would come home with ticks attached to her head or neck area. Spring and early summer are peak times where we live but others may see peak tick activity in mid to late summer. Ticks (left) are related to spiders. Unlike spiders, however, ticks are ectoparasites of vertebrate animals. This means that they feed o n the blood of animals ranging from snakes to mammals, including us and our pets. Like other blood-feeding invertebrates, for example mosquitoes, female ticks must get a blood meal in order to lay healthy eggs. Also like mosquitoes, ticks can transmit some important human and pet diseases while feeding. Lyme Disease is spread by the bite of ticks as is Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and many others. Not all ticks carry di...

Ticks, and their host animals such as mice and deer, become more active in Spring. This is also when mating generally occurs and this brings host animals closer together which gives ticks the opportunity to move from one host to another. Ticks actually time this increase in host animal activity by monitoring the levels of certain hormones in the blood of their hosts. Therefore as the Spring mating season gets into high gear tick activity will increase as well. As the owners of dogs that like to explore rodent holes we have to be especially vigilant in the spring. Noses that explore mouse holes can sometimes emerge with a tick! And, these same ticks don't necessarily stay on the dogs but can be deposited into our house as well. So, the bottom line is that Spring is "tick season" , so be prepared. Ticks feed on the blood of their host animal. Ticks can remained attach to their host for many hours during which their saliva mixes with the host's blood. Tick saliv...