After close to two weeks of single digit temperatures, we have had an unseasonably warm week in Eastern Massachusetts. And much to my dismay after hiking in the Blue Hills, I pulled four very active and lively DEER ticks off my dog. So out came the frontline, I was hoping not to have to use it year round but I don't think that is an option anymore.
I wanted to warn anyone in the area who may not have the advantage of the white fur in spotting them and not thinking to consider looking for them in the dead of winter that they are back!
Connie Sutherland Moderator Reg: 07-13-2005
Posts: 31571
Loc: North-Central coast of California
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Quote: Sheila Buckley
... I pulled four very active and lively DEER ticks off my dog. ... I wanted to warn anyone in the area who may not have the advantage of the white fur in spotting them and not thinking to consider looking for them in the dead of winter that they are back!
Thanks!
I just emailed several family members in the Boston area!
Natalya Zahn Webboard User Reg: 12-22-2006
Posts: 1824
Loc: Cambridge, MA
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Quote: sheila buckley
... I pulled four very active and lively DEER ticks off my dog. ... I wanted to warn anyone in the area who may not have the advantage of the white fur in spotting them and not thinking to consider looking for them in the dead of winter that they are back!
CRAP!!! That is exactly what I DON'T need to hear right now!!
We're new to Cambridge, MA and Oscar got a tick on him in November (YEEECH!!) which would have been impossible for November in our old home of Northern VT... I guess, with the new "southern" locale, and the weather so crazy warm this month, I need to step it up a notch again...
*We didn't even spot the previous tick till Oscar had nibbled it to death (AFTER it had gorged itself) and there was a big bloody spot on his tail... now I'm wondering if I should have his blood tested - I don't think Lyme is particularly accurate on tests taken this close after a bite, but I guess it can't hurt (he isn't showing ANY symptoms of anything), and now I'm nervous that it might not have just been a dog tick... man, it doesn't get any grosser than ticks...
(and yes, I AM projecting my hypochondriac tendencies onto my dog ...)
*We didn't even spot the previous tick till Oscar had nibbled it to death (AFTER it had gorged itself) and there was a big bloody spot on his tail~Natalya
The fact that you saw it and it was an ample size points to your everyday run of the mill brown dog tick....nasty, yes! But not spreaders of Lyme Disease.
The deer tick are very small about the size of a pepper flake. Even on his white coat they are hard to detect. Luckily, my 14 year old daughter shares your dread of ticks and always gives the dog the once over before petting him. She found the first tick which caused my husband to go over him and he found two more. When I got in from work I served up the frontline and also checked his coat, 4 more to add to the tick count
Welcome to Massachusetts! Cambridge is quite a change from Vermont!
The large, swollen tick is a female. When they get their fill then they drop off and lay eggs. Look around and you'll often find a smaller male within a couple of inches of where the female was.
Natalya Zahn Webboard User Reg: 12-22-2006
Posts: 1824
Loc: Cambridge, MA
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Quote: sheila buckley
The fact that you saw it and it was an ample size points to your everyday run of the mill brown dog tick....nasty, yes! But not spreaders of Lyme Disease.
That's what I thought, but then, in doing a little research, I came across a website that had THIS to say about BROWN DOG ticks:
Quote:
Often confused with Deer tick during later engorgement due to shield design. Mouth part is much shorter than Deer tick mouthparts.
So, since the one we found was obviously completely full (just hadn't detached in time to save itself), could it have been a deer tick afterall?? The mouthparts were too mangled by the time we got in with the tweezers, so I can't say how long they were... and we did check him over pretty thoroughly afterwards, to make sure we hadn't missed any more!
~Natalya
*Thanks for the "welcome" Sheila! Big change indeed, but so far, we're loving it!
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