Tick Talk, it’s Time for Ticks!

California is a great place for ticks to thrive since temperate climates don’t force them to go dormant in the winter. Taking walks at Central park or Placerita Canyon Nature Center are some of the great joys of living in Santa Clarita but you don’t want to come back from the park with extra eight-legged pets!

A common misconception about ticks is that they jump onto their host from trees. Ticks are actually incapable of jumping; they just don’t have the anatomy for it. A tick will spend his night curled up in some leaf litter to absorb moisture. When the day begins, the tick climbs up a bush, never more than three feet in the air and starts waving around his two front legs. This is called questing. The legs have sensors that detect host odors and carbon dioxide. When a host walks by, the tick hops on.
In an animal, the tick burrows his head under the host’s skin and begins feeding. Left undisturbed, it will drink for 3-14 days before dropping off.
So now that you feel itchy and crawly all over, I bet you’d like to know how to protect yourself!
It is essential to remove a tick as soon as you find it. You must remove the head with the tick, because many diseases are found in the tick’s saliva. If you are not confident, have your doctor or vet help you. An excellent product to help keep ticks off a human is Deep Woods Off. A variety of excellent and satisfying tick-killing products for pets are available from your vet. Our current favorite is Bravecto, as it protects up to 3 months with one dose, and is water-proof!
It may be tempting to purchase the pet tick treatments that are available over the counter at the supermarket. Be forewarned however that these products have been shown to be much less efficient than the products that are available from your vet. Also, it is extremely important that you NEVER use a product that is formulated for a dog on a cat, as doing so could end up being a fatal mistake.
If you have any further questions about tick control and prevention, please call us at Copper Hill Animal Clinic where we would be happy to help you further! 661-296-8848.