Re: Be tick aware Karen, that's 2 ticks this week and always on her face but she seems just fine and her normal self I'm sure her cut will heal OK it's not a bad one. Thank you x
Re: Be tick aware Just found a tick on murphys upper leg. Iv never seen one in my life before! Its gross. We dont have a tick remover and we were struggling to get it with the tweezers weve got as i was really worried wed squeeze it so we are waiting till the morning and my friend with a tick remover is coming round to get it, and then im going out to buy one! I hope waiting till morning wont be a problem?! Or any more of a problem than if we ended up squeezing it or breaking it with tweezers tonight? Im really worried!!
Re: Be tick aware Once you get a tick remover you will find it very easy to get the tick off. If you happen to have any Permethrin insecticide handy you can dab that on the tick to kill it. Permethrin is the active tick-killing ingredient in Advantix. It will kill a tick instantly. Don't use any other kind of substance though as it will just annoy the tick and make it discharge saliva without killing it. One other option is to tie a bit of cotton or dental floss around the head of the tick and pull it out that way. I personally would try to remove it tonight, even if you leave the head in. Leaving the head in is not really a big deal.
Re: Be tick aware Thanks Pippa, Here is another good site on ticks and tickborne illness: http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/life_cycle_and_hosts.html I talk about this in the microbiology class that I teach. All blood sucking insects need to release anticoagulants from their saliva to keep your blood flowing in order to get their blood meal (think how small the bite actually is and our blood would clot right away and stop the flow of the meal). It is often when the saliva is released that the pathogens are transmitted. For our dogs we use both the Frontline medication monthly and a tick collar as there is a high amount of Lyme near us. Also in three weeks Kailey we be getting her first Lyme vaccine. I didn't want to do Lyme and Lepto vaccines at the same time and Lepto seemed to be the bigger concern. If the Lyme vaccine was approved for people I would get it. I actually did ask my pediatrician and she jokingly suggested that I speak to the vet Some folks have serious arthritic joint problems with Lyme due to the immune system antibodies cross reacting with joint tissue leading to inflammation as the body deals with the bacterial infection. The breeder that Kailey came from told us she lost a dog to a tickborne illness and I would never want that to happen to my dogs if possible. Doing a tick check especially when coming in from a wooded or grassy area is a must for both people and dogs. I tell my students to get naked in front of a mirror.....as ticks don't always just wash off in a shower. We also use DEET sprays on ourselves which also helps with mosquitoes. I wouldn't invest in a special tick removal tool as you can easily get them to back out on your own with tweezers or by hand. Like Pippa's website suggests don't squeeze the tick, but a gentle pressure will help the tick back itself out (they don't want to risk losing their head). I flush them down the toilet.....and then use some antiseptic on the spot where they were trying to attach. biorus
Re: Be tick aware Ticks are a bit wierd in that they actualy breath through there bodies. So get some vasaline, slap that on them, they should peg out & drop off. If you need some vasaline, I have copious amounts to spare, ehem.
Re: Be tick aware I think the worry is that if you "stress" the ticks they might regurgitate their stomach contents, nasties included. I think that is why most people advise removing them rather than applying anything to them. I have heard the vaseline one before too.
Re: Be tick aware The most up-to-date advice is that you should NOT apply Vaseline or any kind of oil to a tick, but just ease it out gently with tweezers or fingers.
Re: Be tick aware [quote author=Karen link=topic=92.msg107441#msg107441 date=1409986367] The most up-to-date advice is that you should NOT apply Vaseline or any kind of oil to a tick, but just ease it out gently with tweezers or fingers. [/quote] That's exactly what our vet advises too. We use tweezers quick and easy then kill the horrible little blighters.
Re: Be tick aware I hate those awful creatures.... I use spot ons on my dogs so I didn't see any of them at my dogs for few years now but I guess it's also because there's not many of them in my area.
Re: Be tick aware Benson had a huge one earlier this week I removed, right in the middle of his head, yuck!! Guess we are now heading into tick season....
Re: Be tick aware We've swapped from Frontline to Stronghold (because it protects against fox mange and we've got a lot of that here) - but Stonghold doesn't act on ticks, so I guess we need to be more alert now! First time I checked Pongo over I was sure he had a couple of ticks on his belly. It took me a little while to realise they were his nipples. I'm so glad I didn't have a tick remover, I'd have tried to twist them off...
Re: Be tick aware [quote author=Rosie link=topic=92.msg155512#msg155512 date=1428654633] First time I checked Pongo over I was sure he had a couple of ticks on his belly. It took me a little while to realise they were his nipples. I'm so glad I didn't have a tick remover, I'd have tried to twist them off... [/quote] ;D That was a close one Pongo!
Hi I am a first time dog owner and I tried to remove a tick from my 18 week old puppies ear today. I didnt fully realise it was a tick until after i thought it was a thorn but i accidently squished it and and left the head in. Do I need to take Alfie to the vets now as a matter of urgency or do I need to take a wait and see approach? The tick was probably there for around six hours :s. Thank you
Hi Beckyt6, I don't know the answer to that. I would imagine the risk is pretty small, generally, unless you live in an area which is really high in Lyme's disease, in which case your dog might need antibiotics. There are other diseases that can be carried by ticks including Babesiosis which has been in the UK news recently (for dog owners anyway!) I'm afraid I don't know where you live, so can't give any specific advice. That is where your vet comes into it If in doubt, run it past your vets, if only for peace of mind.
Good advice from @drjs@5 to phone your vet for advice. You can get a 'tick remover' tool from the vet as well. I found a tick on my dog a few weeks back and removed it with ease with the tool.
We found a tick on our pup while on holiday, no tick remover (bought a few now though!). Bit fiddly but I managed to tie dental floss around it's head and pull it out complete, checked the head was still intact and it was. Horrible things!, luckily we've only had one so far.
I'm in the USA and we have those horrid Ticks too. I hate them. They even survive winter. Every March our dogs have a 4DX test which checks for Heartworm and three Tick bourne illnesses. We use K9 Advantix II and it works great. Kills Ticks on contact.
