Summertime is tick time!

In the hot season, there's nothing better for dog owners than exploring the great outdoors with their four-legged friend. But there is a danger for humans and animals lurking in tall grass, bushes and forests: the tick!

In Germany, the tick species of the "common wood tick" is the most widespread. It can transmit Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis or TBE, among others. Diseases that can have serious long-term consequences for dogs and humans. The main risk area for infected ticks is southern Germany, but all the recommendations in this article apply to the whole of Germany without exception
It is therefore important to check your pet for ticks after a walk in the countryside. A thorough check is particularly important for long-haired animals. The parasites prefer to attach themselves to easily accessible areas with a thin, soft skin surface. Favourite sites of attack are, for example, armpits, inner thighs, ears and belly. However, the beasts can appear on any part of the body, as the dog's dense fur prevents them from "travelling" on the body and the tick often remains in the place where it first landed on the host.

Once you have discovered a tick on your pet, there are various ways to remove the pest:

Use the tool of your choice to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull it out carefully and evenly. As the insect secretes a kind of glue that helps it to "stick" to its host, it may take a while for it to detach completely. Do not react frantically if the tick does not come off immediately. Regardless of how you remove the tick, always make sure that the body of the vermin is not squeezed. This would force the blood and intestines of the pest into the dog's body via the bite wound and thus increase the risk of infection.

Never use a lot of force or work jerkily! The whole animal should always be removed without tearing off the head. If the head of the tick remains on the wound, it is difficult to remove afterwards. This also increases the risk of infection.

So-called "home remedies" should be avoided. A widely used method is to suffocate the vermin with oil, glue or similar. Although this causes the parasite to fall off the host, the previous "panic" of the death struggle causes the vermin to vomit blood and saliva into the dog via the bite wound. This increases the risk of infection enormously.

Afterwards, thoroughly destroy the removed problem so that it cannot immediately attack the next dog. And these beasts can take a beating! Flushing down the toilet alone is not enough. Methods such as fire or a combination of floor and shoe heel/stone have proved effective. Boiling water or high-proof alcohol can also be used if the animal's exterior is to remain undamaged for inspection by the vet.

If reddening of the skin is visible at the bite site after treatment, a vet should definitely be consulted. The so-called travelling redness can be an indication of possible Lyme disease. A doctor should also be consulted if the dog shows symptoms such as fever, loss of appetite or fatigue in the days following tick removal.

What is effective against ticks?

Ticks are annoying little beasts that you need to protect yourself and your pet from all year round. You can find out what really helps against ticks here.

With every blood meal, the saliva of these arachnids gets into the bite wound. The tick bite itself usually causes severe itching in dogs and cats, with or without swelling. However, if the tick saliva contains pathogens, a bite can transmit life-threatening diseases such as anaplasmosis, babesiosis, borreliosis, ehrlichiosis or, in very rare cases, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) to dogs. If left untreated, these diseases are often acute or even fatal.

Recent studies indicate that ticks carrying pathogens survive cold and heat better than ticks that are not infected. For example, it was shown that the "common wood tick", if it carries the anaplasmosis pathogen, produces an anti-frost protective enzyme in winter temperatures, which increases its survival rate compared to uninfected ticks. It was also found that ticks infected with the Lyme disease pathogen react less sensitively to heat and dryness and survive at a significantly higher rate than other ticks. It can therefore be assumed that you should protect your pet all year round.

How you can prevent a tick bite

Preventive measures can successfully fight Lyme disease and the like. These include Removing ticks quickly and using preparations that kill the ticks. Transmission times vary depending on the tick species and pathogen. Borrelia bacteria are transmitted 6 to 72 hours after the tick bite, anaplasmosis pathogens within 24 hours, TBE pathogens after just a few minutes and babesia after 48 hours.

Dogs should therefore be checked for ticks after every walk. Cats do not contract Lyme disease, but should be checked at least once a day to prevent local symptoms. Favourite bite sites are the vascularised, thin-skinned areas on the head, neck, shoulders and armpits.

The ticks can be grasped with special tick tweezers and gently pulled out of the skin. Under no circumstances should you try to kill them with oil or other liquids beforehand, as ticks bring their potentially infectious saliva into the wound during the death throes.

However, searching the animal alone does not ensure safety, as too many ticks are overlooked by this method, even by experts. They can often only be recognised and removed days after the start of the blood meal, when they have eaten their fill of blood and have already infected the dog. Spot-on preparations, sprays or antiparasitic collars are available in veterinary practices to protect animals from uninvited visitors or to spoil the appetite of the little beasts.

The spot-on preparations from your trusted vet act as an invisible protective shield. Firstly through their deterrent effect (repellent effect), and additionally through their killing effect. Caution is advised if cats or rabbits live in the household in addition to the dog, as some products are highly toxic to them. The tick-killing active ingredient contained in the collars is released continuously. Occasional swimming or rain do not reduce the effect. However, dogs wearing antiparasitic collars should not swim in ponds with fish, as some of the active ingredients are toxic to fish.

The independent trade also offers a variety of products, some of which are questionable. For example, brewer's yeast or sprays that use whey to stick together the breathing openings of ticks do not prevent parasite infestation. The effectiveness of so-called "biomagnetised" metal tags or amber chains has also not yet been scientifically proven. It is based solely on the subjective perception of the owner and in no way protects the animal.

In addition, an old home recipe advises the use of garlic, but the effect has not been proven, nor is it advisable to use garlic on dogs and cats, because like all bulbous plants, garlic is also poisonous for both animal species! Coconut oil does not protect either, but rather attracts ticks.

Please note: Not all tick repellents are safe for every animal species at every age. The best place to find out which product is suitable for your dog or cat is your vet's surgery. They will give you detailed advice and point out possible side effects or toxic potential.

Our recommendations for your four-legged friend:

Trial packs for dogs

BIO dog food