Ticks usually come from the environment, not from your dog. When your dog brushes against tall grass, leaf litter, shrubs, or woodland vegetation, a tick can climb onto the coat and travel toward the skin for a blood meal. Ticks may also enter your home on another pet, wildlife, clothing, or gear. Your dog can…
Ticks usually live outside in shaded, humid places where vegetation shelters them and wildlife or people pass nearby. You are most likely to encounter them in leaf litter, tall grass, brush, wooded edges, and dense undergrowth rather than in the middle of a dry, closely mowed lawn. Ticks do not jump or fly. They climb…
Ticks can turn a peaceful hike into a health concern. You may not feel a tick bite, so prevention and a careful post-trail check are your best defenses. You can greatly reduce your risk by staying on lower-exposure parts of the trail and covering your skin. Use proven repellents and check your body, clothing, and…
You may wonder where ticks go in the winter when snow and freezing temperatures arrive. Most ticks do not disappear. They shelter in leaf litter, shallow soil, brush, and protected vegetation. Natural cover buffers them from wind and rapid temperature changes. Ticks usually become less active in winter, not completely inactive. During a mild, snow-free…
Ticks do not vanish when temperatures fall. Most ticks slow down and shelter beneath leaf litter, brush, shallow soil, or snow. Some, especially adult blacklegged ticks, can move during mild winter thaws. You can still encounter ticks, tick bites, and tick-borne disease in winter, so year-round tick prevention matters for humans and pets. Your risk…
Lyme disease begins in a wildlife cycle, not with people. Ticks acquire Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease, when they feed on infected small mammals, especially white-footed mice and other rodents. An infected tick can later transmit the bacterium through a tick bite. Ticks usually get Lyme disease from infected small mammals. Deer…
You may wonder, “When ticks bite me, they die. Does that mean my body is naturally protected?” Sometimes, a tick dies, detaches, or appears inactive after feeding because your skin and immune system react strongly to its saliva. This reaction is often called acquired tick resistance. A dead or detached tick does not prove that…
Ticks did not suddenly appear in Canada. They arrived as migratory birds, deer, and other animal hosts carried them, and people and pets transported them during travel. Once a tick reached a place with suitable habitat, hosts, and seasonal conditions, it could potentially survive and reproduce. Warmer conditions and expanding suitable habitat now allow some…
Ticks prefer shaded, humid places with dense vegetation, leaf litter, and plenty of animals to feed on. You are most likely to encounter them where wooded areas meet tall grass, brush, trails, yards, or other wildlife corridors. If you know where ticks live, you can avoid their preferred cover and reduce your risk of tick…
Finding ticks on your skin can feel alarming. These small parasitic arachnids may transmit tick-borne illness. When you get ticks, remove any attached tick promptly. Clean the bite site, record when and where it happened, and watch for symptoms over the next several weeks. The safest next step is simple. Remove the tick with fine-tipped…