Tick, Tock....nope, just Tick

I was hoping to be smug about the nice weather here in California after the last winter we had in Boston...but according to my friends back "home" the east coast has had quite a flux between bitter winter and spring like weather. So I wonder if the tick season isn't really going to go away for too long or that the ticks will be worse than ever. Here in the Bay area, the ticks are not as much of a threat....although like the microclimates there are microenvironment differences that make driving a few hours towards the mountains tick country, while here in Berkeley, it's less likely to see pets on tick preventatives. Below is an infographic collaborative project sponsored by Carrington College in Sacramento, CA. 

Just a few "editor's notes: I don't tend to recommend tweezers  (or fingers) to remove ticks. If you squeeze a ticks body, it can regurgitate its gut contents into the tissue that it's attached to, which is where the bacteria that causes many tick borne diseases live (like Lyme). I tend to recommend tick keys or other such little tools that are sold to hook behind a tick head and remove them steadily from their meal. IF you accidentally leave the "head" (mouth parts)  in the skin, it is often best to leave it alone as digging after it can cause greater damage. Ask your vet if you are worried that the retained part of the tick in the skin, you can always have your vet check it out if the area starts looking angry rather than healing on its own. 

Also, it it not routine for vets to check ticks for infection, we focus more on testing our patients at the proper time interval  or if symptoms are present, but there are labs available for testing ticks for various infections they could be carrying. Enjoy, and thank you Audrey! Click on the image