![]() Moving legs mean they are not dead yet but you may remove a tick that is still and unmoving and actually already dead. So even if you find an attached tick, it doesn't mean they are not working! Look closely at the removed tick. Most topical tick preventions, like Vectra, Frontline, or Preventic collars, take HOURS to kill the tick. And you cannot get Lyme disease from your pet, ONLY by being bitten by a tick. And if you remove and dispose of an unattached tick, there is no chance of transmission of Lyme disease from that tick. So early removal means less chance of Lyme disease. ![]() They need to feed over 24 hours to successfully move the Lyme spirochete (similiar to a bacteria) from their gut to their mouth and then into the body they are feeding on. Ticks transmit Lyme disease by feeding on us or our pets. Adult tick activity is also noted in the summertime. However, during summertime (June, July and August), nymphal ticks can be found mostly on hunting cats and often around the eyelids, nose, mouth and ear tips. Mostly adult ticks are found on pets taking their blood meal or soon thereafter, dropped on the floor of the home. The most tick activity on pets is noted spring and fall (March, April and May and again in September, October and November). The less snow, the more tick activity is noted in the winter time (December, January, February). Ticks are not killed by cold weather! However, snow cover typically is believed to cover them and keep them inactive underneath. ![]() Locally, we see ticks on pets EVERY MONTH OF THE YEAR. While it is possible for ticks to establish indoor life cycles, it is uncommon in Northeastern homes and most common in Southwestern kennels. Once she is full, she falls off, lays her eggs and dies. While only the adult female takes a blood meal, the smaller male may be found attached to her underside, ready to inseminate her. An adult tick will take 3-5 days to fill with its blood meal, typically changing from about the size of the eraser on a pencil to a small grape as it fills. The adult tick crawls about up a foot grass, shrubs or other plant growth to wait for a passing animal (pet, human, deer, almost anything!) to attach to and gain a blood meal. It then emerges as an adult tick, still small but more easily visible than the previous 2 stages. Again, the nymph waits to attach to a rodent, rabbit, human or pet to take a blood meal then fall to the ground to wait in molt until opportunities are right. It then shows up as a nymph, where it looks like a miniature adult tick. If the weather or nearby feeding opportunities are not right, the tick will wait in this stage until it has a better chance of survival. These larva typically get on the mouse or nearby rodent, take a blood meal, then fall to the ground to wait to molt into the next stage. Maybe 5-7 larva could fit on the head of a straight pin. It starts out as an egg, often laid near the entrance to small rodent (white-footed mouse) dens. Typically, one tick is believed to live over a two year period. They are more resistant to our common pesticides and repellents. Ticks are not truly insects, but are more closely related to spiders.
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