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Ticks in Dogs and Cats: Vet’s 2025 Guide to Prevention and Removal 🐾🕷️
By Dr Duncan Houston, BVSc – Ask A Vet Blog
🧬 What Are Ticks?
Ticks are small arthropod parasites that feed on the blood of mammals, including dogs and cats 🐶🐱. They detect hosts through body heat, motion, and carbon dioxide. Though a tick bite isn’t usually painful, ticks are dangerous because they can transmit diseases and cause tick paralysis—a rare but life-threatening condition that improves quickly once ticks are removed.
🕷️ Tick Life Cycle
Hard ticks go through four life stages:
- 🧬 Egg – laid in clusters of up to 6,000
- 🪳 Larva – seek first blood meal (often birds or rodents)
- 🔄 Nymph – feed on small mammals, pets, or humans
- 🧡 Adult – female feeds for 8–12 days, mates on host, then lays eggs
Ticks can live for 2–3 years, needing a blood meal between each stage. Most species need three different hosts during their lifespan.
⚠️ Why Ticks Are Dangerous
Ticks can transmit several tick-borne diseases within hours of attachment, including:
- Lyme disease
- Anaplasmosis
- Babesiosis
- Ehrlichiosis
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Tick paralysis (tick toxicosis)
Generally, removing a tick within 16 hours significantly reduces the risk of disease transmission. That’s why daily tick checks are crucial 🕵️.
🏡 Outdoor Tick Control
You can reduce tick populations around your home with these strategies:
- 🍂 Remove leaf litter and tall brush
- 🪵 Stack wood in dry, sunny areas
- 🚫 Create a 3-ft gravel/wood chip barrier between lawn and woods
- ✂️ Mow the lawn regularly
- 🧱 Fence off areas to deter deer, raccoons, and stray animals
- 🪑 Remove old furniture and hiding spots from the yard
Using Acaricides (Tick Pesticides)
Tick sprays can be used on the lawn and kennel areas, but consult with local regulations or professionals. Never apply these products directly on pets unless labeled as safe 🧴.
🏠 Indoor Tick Control
- Use tick foggers, sprays, or powders on pet bedding and carpets
- Create insecticide barriers where carpet meets wall
- Vacuum cracks around doors and windows
🧴 Pet Tick Prevention
Options include:
- Spot-on treatments – monthly applications; ask your vet for local recommendations
- Tick collars – water-resistant options are great for dogs that swim
- Oral preventatives – chewable tick preventives available by prescription
- Shampoos and powders – help remove ticks but offer limited residual protection
Never double-dose preventives or use products intended for dogs on cats. Use pump sprays rather than aerosols for skittish pets 🔄.
🧐 Finding Ticks on Your Pet
Run your hands over your pet’s entire body daily, especially after time outdoors. Focus on:
- Head and ears
- Neck and shoulders
- Legs and between toes
- Tail base and groin area
🛠️ How to Remove a Tick Safely
You can use fine-tipped tweezers:
- Grasp the tick close to the skin
- Pull upward with steady, even pressure—do not twist
- Clean area with alcohol or iodine
- Dispose of the tick safely (sealed bag or alcohol)
Do NOT use matches, nail polish, petroleum jelly, or alcohol to try to “suffocate” the tick. These methods don’t work and may cause harm ❌.
📋 Aftercare and Monitoring
- Expect mild redness or scabbing
- Apply a topical antibiotic if needed
- If area worsens or remains inflamed beyond 7 days, see your vet
- Watch for signs of illness: fever, lameness, lethargy, or swollen joints
📅 Tick Season Preparedness
Ticks are most active in spring, summer, and fall. But in warm climates, they can be a year-round threat. Use prevention all year in endemic regions 🌡️.
📲 Ask A Vet Support
Have tick concerns or questions about disease prevention? Download the Ask A Vet app to chat with licensed veterinarians 24/7. Get help choosing tick preventives, interpreting symptoms, and removing ticks safely 🐾📱.
