Tick Control

Ticks Suck! No really, they do! Once a tick has latched on to your cat or dog they will gorge themselves on your pets blood swelling up to 50 times their normal size. As one tick will attach itself to many animals during it’s life cycle the risk of transfering a disease from one animal to another is high, second only to mosquitoes.

When not feeding on an animal, ticks like to live off the ground, in bushes and long grass, where they can easily drop onto the backs of a passing host.

One of the best way to control tick attack is to take preventative measures. Keep the grass in your garden cut low, and clean up fallen leaves and other garden debris that may provide a home for ticks. When out walking with your dog try to keep them out of tall grass. If walking through woodland try to keep your dog on the pathways.

Cats and dogs however are inquisitive creatures by nature, so you won’t be able to keep them out of troublesome areas all the time. All is not lost though, as there are a number of products on the market to kill ticks that try to feed off of your cat or dog such as spot on treatments, medicated collars, shampoos or sprays.

Spot on treatments are a medicated liquid which is supplied in a small squeezable tube. To apply this liquid you need to part the hair of your cat or dog at the base of their neck and squeeze the liquid directly on to the skin where it will be absorbed. Typically these treatments provide protection against tick attack for around 30 days.

Medicated collars are probably the easiest tick control method method to apply as you simply place the collar around the cat or dogs neck. Medicated collars tend to have a longer life span than spot on treatments typically providing protection for around 4 to 6 months. They do have one draw back though, in that it is easy for us humans to come into contact with the chemicals on the collar.

There are a large variety of cat and dog shampoos available on the market today which either contain chemicals to kill ticks or use natural herbal remedies to repel them. Cat and dog shampoos will usually provide protection to your animal for around 2 to 4 weeks. Always read the instructions on the bottle carefully and check what the active ingredients are, as shampoos may leave a residue on your pets coat that you may not want to come in contact with.

Sprays tend to come in 2 forms, those that can be applied to animals and those that are to be used on surfaces in the home. Never use a household flea or tick control spray on an animal!

Animal tick control sprays usually work by coating your animals fur with either a chemical or natural herbal remedy to repel or kill ticks. So as with shampoos always read the instructions carefully and check the active ingredients.

Household sprays will kill any ticks that fall off your cat or dog in the house, preventing re-infection. These are to be applied directly to carpets and soft furnishings, and NEVER applied directly to your pet.

Probably the best method of tick control on your cat or dog is, as previously mentioned, prevention.

  • Regular hovering of your home to remove unwanted pests.
  • Keeping your pets favourite sleeping areas clean.
  • Keeping your grass in the garden cut and removing other garden debris.
  • Keeping your dog or cat out of tall grass and woodland.
  • Regular grooming.

All these things will help to prevent your pet from being attacked by ticks, but cats and dogs being the animals they are they will occasionally wander into troublesome areas, so you may want to use one of the tick control products mentioned above.

Before using any commercial products however always seek proper professional advice from your local vet first. Cats and Dogs are the same as us, in that they are individuals. What may be safe to be used on one individual may not be safe on another. Cats and dogs have allergies as we do. I myself suffer from dermatitis which means there are certain commercially produced soap powders that I can’t touch.

Always follow the instructions on the packet. Just because you may not need a prescription to purchase a product does not mean it is harmless. We humans can buy Paracetamol over the counter for example. If used correctly it is great for relieving the symptoms of colds and reducing pain, if you take to much however you could easily find yourself seriously ill in hospital.

These commercial products are a great way to give your pet protection from ticks however when used correctly, and are produced by trusted names such as Frontline and Johnsons. You just need to apply common sense and don’t mix treatments.