You may be surprised at how many different kinds of ticks are out there. And while you may not want to think about it, you love your pet too much to stay uninformed. The more you know, the safer your pet will be, so read on.
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Types of Ticks
» The Truth About Ticks
» Diseases Caused
by Fleas and Ticks
» Miscellaneous Tick
Facts
Cattle Tick
The cattle tick was widely seen throughout the
southeastern and south central United States,
but has since been eradicated with the possible
exception of Florida and Texas along the Mexico
border. This tick was the carrier of Texas Fever,
which destroyed red blood cells in cattle. It’s
entire life cycle was completed on only one
host, and it would attach to cattle, horses,
mules, sheep, goats, deer and buffalo.
Lone Star Tick
You can recognize the Lone Star tick by a white
spot on the female. It is found mostly in wooded
areas and shows little host preference, attacking
both mammals and birds. This tick is believed
to be the foundation for screwworm infestations
in cattle.
Brown Dog Tick
The brown dog tick is a southern pest but can
establish itself in houses and kennels in more
northern areas. It is almost exclusively a parasite
of dogs but is annoying and frightening to homeowners
because often it is seen on walls and furnishings
if the dog is infested. It seldom feeds on humans.
It is a potential vector of Rocky Mountain spotted
fever.
The Gulf Coast Tick
Gulf Coast ticks are found along the coast from
Virginia into Texas in the U.S. as well as in
West Indies, Mexico and South America. They
host on cattle, horses, dogs, sheep, goats and
wolves. Attaching mostly on the inside of ears,
the Gulf Coast tick plays an important role
in screwworm infestation.
American Dog Tick
Found throughout North America, the adult American
Dog tick attacks dogs, man, cattle, horses and
other large mammals. The nymphs feed on rodents.
These ticks are carriers of Rocky Mountain Spotted
Fever and Tularemia.
Ticks are commonly referred to as “bugs,”
but they are actually eight-legged arachnids
like spiders. There are both soft and hard ticks.
The soft bodies of soft ticks swell as they
feed, while hard ticks are, well, hard, and
their bodies do not expand.
The Tick Life Cycle
Ticks have a multi-stage life cycle (from larvae
or “seed ticks” to nymphs to adult
ticks) that requires them to take a blood meal
to pass from one life stage to the next. When
it's ready to move on to the next life stage,
a tick will bite its victim (usually painlessly)
and bury its head under the host’s skin.
It may remain there for anywhere from several
hours to many days.
Tapeworm
• Widespread problem for dogs, cats, rodents
and man.
• It’s spread by fleas after the
flea larvae ingests a tapeworm egg.
Texas Fever
• Also known as Redwater Fever and Tick
Fever.
• This disease is spread by ticks and
mostly infects cattle where it destroys the
red blood cells.
• With the decline of Cattle ticks, Texas
Fever is no longer a common problem.
Tularemia
• This disease is caused by bacteria and
spread by fleas and ticks, and there are only
150-300 cases of tularemia reported in the USA
each year.
• Infects wild animals, rodents, domestic
animals and man.
• Symptoms include an open ulcer at the
bite site with painful swelling of the lymph
nodes in the areas near the bite, accompanied
by a sudden onset of fever, chills, headache,
myalgia (muscle aches), malaise (overall feeling
of being ill) and fatigue.
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
• Disease is spread by ticks throughout
the Western Hemisphere.
• This potentially fatal disease infects
humans and dogs.
• The onset of symptoms is usually sudden
and includes fever, headache, and myalgias.
Chills, nausea and vomiting may also be reported.
A rash usually occurs between the third and
forth day of fever, and often begins on the
wrists and ankles and then spreads.
Q Fever
• Carried primarily by rat fleas, Q Fever
infects wild rodents, rabbits and some domestic
animals, but seems to be primarily a human problem.
• Has flu-like systems.
• Can cause chronic endocarditis plague.
Lyme Disease
• Lyme disease is caused by an infection
of Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, following
a bite from an infected Deer tick (Ixodes).
• Left untreated, this disease can be
fatal.
• Infects dogs, cats, horses, cattle and
man; can be diagnosed by blood tests; and can
be treated with antibiotics (tetracycline or
penicillin).
• Symptoms in humans include characteristic
bull’s-eye rash, one-sided facial paralysis,
headaches, fever, swollen glands, muscle pain
and painful and swollen joints.
• Ticks are parasites and require a meal
of blood at each active stage of their life
cycle – larva, nymph, adult.
• The tick’s gut and accordion-like
skin are designed to expand as it ingests blood.
Some ticks can increase their size 20 to 100
fold as they feed.
• Once fully engorged with blood, the
female abandons her host and can lay up to 23,000
eggs in leaf litter or other protected areas.
• Ticks are carriers of Lyme disease,
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other diseases
that are a threat to pets and humans alike.
• Of the 800 species of ticks, about 80
carry diseases of wildlife, livestock or humans.
• Deer tick nymphs, due to their small
size (about as large as a poppy seed), often
go undetected and are responsible for many Lyme
disease cases in humans. They require high humidity
to survive and are most active in summer after
molting in the spring.
• It takes several hours for a tick to
attach itself thoroughly to the body and 24
to 48 hours for a feeding tick to transmit the
Lyme disease bacteria.
• A tick should be removed with a pair
of sharp tweezers. Grasp the tick as close to
the host’s body as possible and pull straight
back without squeezing the tick. Bare hands,
petroleum jelly and heat should never be used
when removing ticks.
