Dog ticks, or more specifically brown dog ticks, start off as very tiny parasites seeking a blood meal. When they are first born, they tend to be very small and very hard to find. Through their life, they moult many times and finally, at maturity, develop into the big, unappealing critters many of us recognize. They are considered to be probably the most widespread tick found throughout the world.
A female dog tick feeds only once. Her body engorges to many times its original size. Then, a smaller male tick attaches next to her for the purpose of reproduction. The female will then fall to the earth and lay her eggs. She might easily produce 10,000 eggs at one time.
These newborn ticks, or larvae, are often known as seed ticks as a result of their tiny size. They are attracted to light, which in turn makes them climb up virtually any structure they come across. They wait on their lofty perch, sometimes a blade of grass or a tree branch, for the odor of carbon dioxide. This particular gas is introduced in every single breath a canine (or human being) takes. When they smell the gas, they let go and fall on the dog that’s passing below them.
After they are on the dog’s body, they crawl towards the neck, back, ears or even in between the toes and attach themselves to the pet’s skin. They feed on the dog’s blood for 2-4 days then drop off the pet to moult directly into a nymph phase. The second stage tick needs to in addition acquire a blood meal from a pet prior to dropping off again to shed into an adult tick.
Because it is actually quite a challenge for such a very small creature to get onto a quickly moving target such as a dog, ticks have incredible survival rates. A dog tick larva can easily survive up to 6 months with no feeding. An adult can survive for up to 19 months. This makes clear exactly why, in houses that haven’t been lived in for a long time, live ticks can easily even yet be found in the yard.
Brown dog ticks bring about discomfort, particularly when in substantial amounts. They can be identified in many bushland locations and where other dogs have been located. Mainly because of the massive number of eggs a single female tick can produce, it really is easy to understand that they might be problematic to get rid of when they make it inside an environment. Prolonged survival rates combined with difficulty in finding and killing the ticks make them a concern and a nuisance for lots of dog owners.
Control of these particular insect pests calls for treatment of both the dog and environment. Lots of different chemicals are offered but caution ought to be taken not to overdose the pet dog with toxic substances. A careful, extensive program of removal and vigilance will ultimately take care of the issue.
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