Is tick season over?
Not quite, ticks love the fall and will continue to be a problem until temperatures are less than 4 degrees, as soon as the temperature rises the ticks will be active again. Ticks are most active in the spring and fall; they are out through the summer, but they are not as active in the very hot weather.
At North Hill, we saw nine dogs with ticks attached in October, and those are only the ones we know about. Most people think that in October dogs no longer need tick prevention, which is the opposite, it is critical to have the protection through the fall season. So far in November we have seen four dogs with ticks attached
Last year we saw three ticks in December, 1 in February and 3 in March, all it takes is one nice warm winter day that gets above 4 degrees Celsius and the ticks are back out
The good news is you can protect your dog against ticks with two different options. There is a topical treatment that is placed on the skin between the shoulders and will give one month of protection, or an oral option that will give protection for 12 weeks
Written by Beverly Riley, RVT
