It seems that just about everyone is happy to see the winter weather behind us, and the warm summer days ahead of us. However, this joy can be short lived if you fall victim to a vector-borne disease, such as Lyme disease or the Zika virus. This coming summer has a lot of experts worried about the spread of vector-disease. The warm weather coupled with the short winters will cause arachnids and insects in America to be out in full force. So be sure to take care of yourself, and your pets this summer.
Most people have no idea as to which type of animal the tick belongs. Many people believe that ticks are insects, but this is not the case as ticks are actually arachnids. Much like their spider and scorpion family members, there are also numerous types of different ticks. According to Dr. Bill Sones of the Nakusp Veterinary Clinic, the precise time at which tick season starts is correlated with the weather conditions during the previous several months. For example, regions of the United States that enjoyed a warm spring will experience tick sightings early on in the year.
Obviously, the biggest concern with ticks are the diseases that they have been known to spread. You have all heard of Lyme disease, but ticks can also cause other diseases, such as tick paralysis. Tick paralysis only occurs very rarely, and it happens when a tick causes paralysis in an animal. According to Sones, if you do find a tick on one of your pets, then there is a less than one percent chance that your pet will become ill with disease. But your pet should still be observed in order to prevent the tick-bite from becoming infected. If you do find a tick on yourself or your dog, then do not burn it off or use some other method of removal that would only pester the tick. Instead, remove the tick entirely from your pet, and then destroy the tick.
Have you ever found multiple ticks on your person? If you have, where were you coming from?