Ticks can carry Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and other infections. Quick removal and prevention cut the risk.
Ticks wait in long grass and undergrowth and are most active from spring to autumn, but in mild weather they can bite all year round. Which diseases they carry depends on the region, so ask your vet what occurs where you live and where you travel.
Grip the tick close to the skin with a tick remover or fine tweezers and pull or twist it out slowly and steadily. Do not squeeze the body or smear oil or alcohol on it first. Clean the spot and wash your hands; a small red bump for a day or two is normal.
Fever, tiredness, poor appetite, lameness that moves between legs or swollen joints in the weeks or months after a tick bite can mean an infection. Contact your vet: a blood test can confirm it, and treatment works best early. Tick preventives from the vet reduce bites, and some kill ticks before they can pass on an infection.
Correct answer: Grip it close to the skin and pull or twist it out slowly
Grip close to the skin with a tick remover or fine tweezers and remove it slowly and steadily.
Correct answer: Mostly spring to autumn, but all year in mild weather
Ticks are most active from spring to autumn but can bite whenever the weather is mild.
Correct answer: Fever, tiredness and lameness that moves between legs
Fever, lethargy and shifting lameness can be signs of a tick-borne infection; see your vet.
Correct answer: Your vet
The diseases vary by region, and your vet knows what occurs locally and at your destination.
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