Warm weather is finally upon us and a lot more ticks will be upon us (and our pets…) as well. As such, I’ve decided to share and correct some of the most common misunderstandings about ticks that I hear at the office:
Ticks jump from trees: First of all, ticks don’t jump at all. Fleas are amazing jumpers and will actively hunt down an animal to jump onto. Ticks are lazy. They simply crawl up bushes and grass to spread 6 of their legs out until something brushes against them to grab onto. The maximum height that ticks will climb to is 18-24 inches depending on the species. So, choosing Bay Farm over the Town Forest for your dog walk will not protect you from ticks.
Deer attract ticks: Ticks don’t really wander much and they definitely don’t seek out prey like mosquitoes. They simply move too slow. Engorged ticks can certainly fall off deer to lay eggs in areas of high deer-density, so I’m definitely not saying there aren’t potentially more ticks where deer congregate. But controlling mice around your home is actually more important than controlling deer. The mice are the ones nurturing the baby ticks to the age where they bite us and pets.
There is a “Tick Season”: I realize that calling this a fallacy goes against the first statement in this article, but my point is that some people think ticks are not active from October through April. Ticks are a problem ALL YEAR. They do not die in the cold and will still be actively feeding in temperatures below freezing so long as they are not covered in snow. This is why tick prevention is recommended throughout the year.
Insect repellants are better than preventives: This is a gray area… In theory, this makes sense as it would be better to keep the ticks from biting dogs at all. The issue with this is that ticks are not like mosquitoes where they will flit about sniffing, then fly away because of the repellant. Ticks move slow and often need to get close to the skin before they sense the repellants. They will eventually crawl off, but often this occurs after the pets have come back into the home. In these cases, they will go after the next best thing: us.
Covering the ticks in certain solutions is the best way to remove them: I have heard about slathering ticks with more compounds than I can remember: essential oils, petroleum jelly, nail polish, bourbon (what a waste!)… People think they disengage before dying so this is better. Ticks will eventually die from many of these things, but research as supported that they seem to regurgitate into their host as they suffocate. This spreads bacteria and viruses into the bloodstream. Using tweezers and pulling from the head is still the best method.
You have to dig the mouth parts out after removal: The mouth parts are stuck into the skin with a form of natural glue secreted with the tick’s saliva. Unless the tick secretes the natural solvent it uses to disengage, they are NOT coming out. You would have to dig out a chunk of skin in the process. There are no bacteria or viruses in the mouth parts. Leaving them is like leaving a splinter for the body to eventually push out on its own. I’m not saying it can’t get infected like a splinter, I’ve just never seen it in 30 years. However, I have seen infections from the trauma owners do trying to dig them out of their pets.