Keep an eye out for ticks

I HAVE just got back in from a walk with the dog and picked three ticks off her coat, and will be keeping me eyes peeled for others from now on.

Ticks can pose real dangers to your pets, but also to people themselves, so as the days get warmer the chance of seeing some of these beasties increases.

Diseases such as leishmaniasis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and heartworm can prove fatal to your pets so precautions should be taken.

It is possible to buy Frontline spray-on and spot treatment that can be applied to cats and dogs, make sure your pet doesn’t try and shake it off once applied.

But also make a habit of looking over your pet for the distinctive tick, there is a larger black variety and a small red coloured one.

Learning how to stay clear of ticks yourself and safely unhook them from your skin is an important skill to have, because they can pass on Lyme disease, which can see people suffer flu-like symptoms for a long period of time.

The Lyme Disease Association works to raise awareness amongst doctors of the symptoms and offers advice and tips on the illness.

Another site worth exploring is tick-victims.info.

Website: European tick established in UK - BBC

Comments

[Peter Griffin]

Do not attempt to remove the tick with tweezers as there is a danger that the head will become detached from the body and remain in the skin causing nasty infections.

The best way I have found is to use cotton wool soaked in chloroform (may be obtained from your pharmarcy) applied to the tick, after a few seconds it is dead and then can be removed with tweezers or similar.

I believe there are proprietary gadgets for tick removal also obtained from the local vet/pharmarcy.

Good hunting.

[Beryl Brennan]

Ticks are also a major problem on horses too. We didn't get them on our horses in the UK, but from January onwards in France, the little blighters crawl up the horses' legs and faces (when the horses put noses down to pick at grass) and head for the poll, between the ears. If enough of them collect, then it can cause serious illness in the horses.

Treat with Butox, the only thing which works. Get a bottle of concentrate, 5ml to 100ml water, spray on every 4 or 5 days, especially after rain.

Would like someone to tell me exactly what useful purpose ticks play in our life cycle?!

[Craig McGinty]

Hi Peter and Beryl, many thanks for the those 'tips on ticks' and must admit I do wonder what they bring to Mother Nature!
Craig