Use veterinarian-recommended preventive treatments year-round, check your pets after they've been outside, and reduce mosquito and tick habitat in your yard. Mosquitoes can transmit heartworm to dogs, and ticks can transmit Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis to both dogs and cats.
It’s already stressful dealing with mosquitoes and ticks for yourself and your kids. But for your pets, the problem is trickier because they’re outside more than you are. They’re also lower to the ground and tend to move through the grass and brush where ticks wait, and they can’t exactly swat mosquitoes away. That makes them more exposed to pests than anyone else in the household.
Of all mosquito-related risks, heartworm is the most serious one for dogs. It can be transmitted through just one bite from an infected mosquito, and once established, the worms grow in the heart and lungs. There are treatments, but they’re expensive and hard on the animal. They’re also not always successful. Heartworms are better prevented than treated, and prevention can be done through monthly oral or topical medication prescribed by your vet. It works by killing heartworm larvae before they develop.
Ticks are a concern for both dogs and cats, though dogs tend to pick up more of them. Along the West Michigan Lakeshore, where wooded lots and brushy edges are common, a dog running along a tree line or exploring underbrush can pick up multiple ticks in a single outing. Blacklegged ticks can transmit Lyme disease to dogs, causing joint pain, lethargy, and kidney problems. American dog ticks can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Tick preventives like collars, topical treatments, or oral medications reduce the number of ticks that successfully attach and feed. Your vet can recommend the best option for your pet’s size, age, and activity level.
Beyond preventative medication, the next biggest action you can take is to check your pet after time outside. Run your hands through the fur and feel for small bumps, paying attention to the ears, neck, between the toes, and around the tail. Ticks on pets are easier to miss than ticks on skin because the fur hides them.
Reducing tick habitat in your yard helps protect everyone, including pets and people. Keeping grass short, clearing leaf litter, and dumping standing water sources can all go a long way here.
If you'd like to reduce mosquito and tick populations on your West Michigan Lakeshore property, Mosquito Squad of West Michigan Lakeshore can help. Mosquito Squad treats the areas where mosquitoes breed and ticks wait for hosts. With each treatment, populations can be reduced by up to 90% at a time, with re-treatments every 21 days.
