Welcome to the official start of "tick" season.

Yep, the weather is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, the grass is getting greener, thicker and dare I say tickier!

Is there anything more disgusting than a tick?

Finding one on your pet is bad enough, but when you discover one of those little blood suckers on you, well, that escalates things up to Defcon 1 in my book.

Ticks prefer temperatures in the 50 to 80 degree range, and they like it when it’s dryer. So spring and fall tend to be the worse for ticks, according to Dr. Dawn Dale of Dale Animal Hospital in Sioux Falls.

Dale says, "In this part of the country, ticks are more disgusting than dangerous.” While ticks are more pesky than dangerous, a tick bite could lead to lyme disease or tick paralysis in pets.

So what's the best way to protect you and your pets from getting ticks while outside?

When it comes to your pets, Dale suggests that you see your veterinarian and get a recommendation for a veterinarian-grade product.

Should you find a tick on your pet, Dale says remove them as soon as possible, in a quick yanking motion similar to removing a BandAid. Ticks should also be disposed of properly so they can’t come back to bite again.

Her favorite tick disposal trick is using a little piece of scotch tape. After you have removed the tick, you place it on the sticky part of the tape and fold it in half, then drop it in the wastebasket.

To help keep those little bastards off you, when going into an area likely to have ticks, experts recommend that you do these three things:

  • Stick to main pathways and the center of trails when hiking.
  • Wear a light-colored, long-sleeved shirt with long pants and tuck your pants into your socks.
  • Always use bug repellents.

Remember that ticks can attach anywhere, in particular, they will find spots like: the back of your knee, around waistbands, under armpits or any other constricted place.

Anytime after you have been in tick habitat you should thoroughly check your entire body and remove attached ticks immediately.

And just an FYI, once they're attached, ticks don't wash off in the shower. No matter how hard you scrub!

Source: KDLT

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