In Brisbane and all along the East Coast we have to be mindful of ticks and take steps to prevent tick bites. The paralysis tick is a particular threat to pets like cats and dogs and if you are a pet owner, making sure your tick control is sorted so you can be confident your fury friend isn’t going to pick up a tick from your home.
Paralysis ticks are parasites that will bite any warm blooded animal such as cats, dogs or even people. Contrary to popular belief ticks don’t tend to drop down on their hosts from above but prefer to linger in tall grass or smaller shrubs so they can latch onto a host as they brush past. Once they have landed on a host they will crawl until they find a good spot to start biting. Tick tend to bite between folds of skin or in hair, this is the reason they are hard to spot and brushed off.
The life cycle of a Tick
The paralysis tick will use three hosts to complete its life cycle. As an egg, it hatches on the ground to become a larva. It will then climb onto nearby long grass or trees to wait for its first host. After penetrating the skin and gorging on blood, the tick will drop off to the ground, moult and become a nymph as it waits for its next victim.
Seeking it's second host, again another warm blooded animal from domestic pests to wild animals it again will feast, drop to the ground, moult and attack its third and final victim. Here it penetrates the victims skin again in order to feast one last time only to then drop off and lay as many as 3,000 eggs in two weeks – before it dies.
Ticks won’t necessarily immediately latch onto it's host. They may first spend up to a day wandering around on the skin of it's host before finding the perfect place to latch. The male often wanders around in search of an unfertilised female to mate with. Once they attached themselves on they may stay there for as long as 3 weeks.
A Paralysis tick bite can mean serious trouble for you and your pet and if your pet starts to display any of the symptoms of a tick bite you should see immediate seek help from a vet.
The signs of a tick bite in pets are:
Vomiting or retching,
Heavy and laboured breathing,
Changes in your pet’s vocal sounds,
Loss of coordination in the hind leg,
Reduced appetite,
Radiating paralysis to forelegs.
Most pets also become disorientated and stressed during this process and the paralysis will cause difficulty breathing and can results in death. Paralysis can occur 2 – 4 days after attachment to your pet.
Whilst personal insect repellent is a great way to protect you and your family from tick bites they can offer little protection for your pet if the repellent fails. Having a Tick Treatment placed around your yard will greatly reduce the chance of your beloved pet getting bitten by ticks as it will eradicate the ticks in your yard creating a major break in the breeding cycle.
Don’t wait for ticks to put your pet’s life in danger call Results Home Services now on 3823 2500 and see how we can protect your pets and family from ticks this autumn. We service all of Brisbane including surrounding suburbs on the north side and south side.