Give your pet the preventative prescribed by your veterinarian, check them for ticks after outdoor time, and treat your yard to reduce their odds of a tick encounter in the first place.
Pets tend to spend a lot of time in the same places ticks do. This is not a comforting fact. It doesn’t help that they’re also low to the ground, covered in fur, and often enthusiastic about tall grass and leaf litter. These are the places where ticks tend to wait for hosts to pass by. A Michigan dog, in that way, can collect more ticks in an afternoon than a human might all season. Cats do the same, but with even less supervision.
The first layer of protection is the oral or topical preventative prescribed by your vet. It’s not available over-the-counter because you have to consider species, weight, age, and health. There are many dog treatments, for example, that can hurt cats. But this is something vets know all about. They can help you choose the right one. It’s also smart to ask about Lyme disease vaccination for dogs while you’re there.
Most pet tick encounters happen at home in the shaded margins of yards where ticks tend to spend time. Barrier treatment applied to these areas can knock down questing ticks and keep working between visits. It also helps to mow the grass, rake leaves, and if you have a serious tick problem, put a dry border between the lawn and woods.
Beyond putting your pet on a preventative and treating the yard where they spend their time, there’s one more thing you can do. You can check them for ticks after they come inside. If you remove ticks promptly, the odds of any given tick transmitting a dangerous disease go down greatly. You can do this by running your fingertips through the coat against the grain around the ears, under the collar, armpits, groin, between the pads, and around the tail. If your dog acts lethargic, starts limping, or stops eating, take them to the vet.
If your pets keep bringing ticks home with them, Mosquito Squad of Fenton - Brighton can help. Mosquito Squad treats the zones where ticks wait, helping protect your pets and family with up to 90% reduction in pest activity on a recurring cycle.
