Ticking Down to Winter

This week we had quite a few dogs come in for grooming with a number of ticks on board in various stages from nymph to adult and including the black legged ticks, also referred to as deer ticks, that carry Lyme disease.
I have discussed ticks and the potential for your pet to contract tick borne diseases in previous columns as well as some precautionary measure you can take. However, people tend to forget that ticks are just as prevalent during the fall timeframe as they are during spring.
Pet owners often get complacent about ticks during this time of year. Although the weather is cooling down, ticks are not yet dormant and we should not forget all our preventative measures against ticks and the health complications they can bring even at this time of year.
During fall and winter ticks live in tall grass, shrubs, woods, and leaf and wood piles which protect and shield them from the cold. Ticks remain inactive as long as the weather approaches freezing temperatures. They become active as the weather warms up above freezing. During the fall the weather is still warm enough for ticks to remain active and searching for a host.
Ticks search for a host and feed off of the host's blood in order to transition through their life cycles. Ticks that have not yet found a host for the season will continue to search for one for as long as they can. This fall has certainly been warm enough for ticks to stay active and if the weather stays warm they could remain active for another couple weeks at least.
Many pet owners simply apply topical preventatives and take other precautions against ticks during a set number of months of the year. However, ticks do not care what month it is, but simply how warm it is outside. During an especially warm fall you should consider applying an extra month of topical products and using other preventative measures just as you would in the spring and summer.
The fall has one particular hazard that is likely to lead to ticks on both your fuzzy companions and yourself. That is the leaf pile. Although we all love piling up all the leaves as high as we can and jumping right in, this is usually a hotbed for ticks. If you just cannot resist letting your pet join in the fun too, at least make sure that you add your pet to the tick check once everyone is inside.
Taking care of yard waste periodically will prevent it from building up and becoming an even bigger problem with regard to ticks. Once you get your leaves piled up try to get rid of them as soon as you can. Try to keep pets away from the wood pile as well.
Avoid areas likely to have ticks while on your walks if you can this time of year and check for ticks as soon as you return from any hiking or walks through wooded areas. Removing ticks promptly can cut down the chance of disease transmission.
Please send comments, questions, and topics of interest to Rose Atwood of Woodcrest Kennel and Woodcrest Airedales at raa@wood