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James
Elliott BVetMed MRCVS CertVR,
Principal at Midforest Vets writes
Visitors to
the New Forest can be assured of a warm welcome, especially from
a particular inhabitant who really likes to get under your skin.
The tick is
a delightful creature that sucks blood and it’s not too
fussy about whose blood. If that’s not bad enough, a few
of them carry Lyme’s disease that can cause disease in dogs
and humans.
Ticks start
life as tiny 6 legged nymphs called ‘seed ticks’ that
climb to the top of foliage to await their hapless victim to brush
by whereupon they jump on and with a hypodermic-needle like mouth
draw a small amount of blood. Then they drop off and hide away
somewhere dark and damp and for the rest of the year grow into
the lentil size next stage.
The following
year, the eight legged ‘2nd year tick’ is ready to
go again, feeds once and drops off and for the rest of the year
grows into the mature adult.
In the third
year, the adult feeds just one more time inflating to the size
of a pea, drops off, lays eggs and dies! (was it really worth
the trouble I hear you ask!)
Ticks vary
in colour according to species from pale cream through to brick
red and dark blue.
If a tick
is found on a pet then the best method of removing it is with
a special ‘tick hook’ removing tool. The secret to
successful removal is to twist the tick and not pull, the tick
hook makes this much easier. Forget burning them off with cigarettes
Humphrey Bogart style and whisky is only useful to toast your
success afterwards.
Prevention
is better than cure and ticks can be discouraged from latching
on to pets by a range of products available from your veterinary
surgeon.
As
a foot note, the signs of Lyme’s disease to watch out for
in humans are a red spot that develops at the bite site weeks
afterwards and spreads to become a large red patch followed by
flu like symptoms. Lyme’s disease can be serious so seek
medical attention as soon as you suspect a problem.
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