| These little pesty parasites look like little spiders. By the time they attach themselves to its host (any animal or human) and is full of blood, the tick actually becomes the size of a small pea. They are unlike the fast hopping fleas because ticks are very slow moving and actually remain stationary once they come in contact with their host.. Ticks have a special organ that allows them to sense humidity, odors, movement and last but not least the presence of a host. Ticks can be found waiting patiently on the tips of grass, leaves etc hoping for a host to brush by. (your canine or you as well) . Ticks are most active during the spring and summer and depending on the weather can also be a problem in the fall. Keeping your dogs away from infested areas such as woods during the peak tick season is helpful. If you do venture into these areas, carefully examine your dogs and yourself at least once a day following your outings. Using tick repellant products are helpful as well. I personally found that Frontline Plus really has cut the incidents of ticks on my dogs who travel in wooded areas with us on a regular basis. Since we live in the country, it was easier and more effective than sprays and other products on the market. Ticks prefer to attach to its host on the head, neck, ears, around the anal area, near the shoulder blades and between toes. They like areas of their host that don't have allot of fur. Simple method for removing Ticks Wearing latex gloves (yes gloves, due to the instances of Lymes Disease associated with deer ticks) Apply alcohol with a Q-tip all over the tick including the skin where the head is burrowed into the skin. Wait several minutes (This should cause the tick to withdraw its head from underneath the skin.) Otherwise if you don't use the procedure above you probably will cause the headpiece of the tick to remain under the skin which could cause infection. With Tweezers or a tissue, grasp the tick as close as possible to the skin of the host, avoid squeezing the abdomen of the tick. Gentle, but firmly pull the tick off. Treat the area with a good germicidal agent such as iodine. If by chance the head should remain, the area will fester and in a few days you should be able to squeeze the area which will resemble a pimple to extract the remaining tick and puss. Again treat with iodine. NEVER CRUSH THE TICKS BETWEEN YOUR FINGERS!!!!!! Dispose of it. If your concerned about the strain of tick, (deer ticks in particular) place the tick in alcohol in a jar and consult your vet. Its better to be safe than sorry. Rule of Thumb...... if its big like a pea, its NOT a deer tick. Hope this give you some simple insight on removing those nasty ticks yourselves, quick and easy!!! Good Luck!! |
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| REMOVING TICKS SAFELY |
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| A very full american dog tick |