The Truth About Ticks
The Truth About Ticks
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Ticks are a growing concern in the UK, and pets can pick them up wherever they go - not just in forest and grassy areas, but also in urban parks and even gardens.
Click on the numbers to view some facts about ticks, which will help you with your conversations.
1 in 3 dogs in the UK are infested with ticks.6
There are 3 main species of tick across Europe that affect pets: Ixodes, Dermacentor and Rhipicephalus.
Ticks wait on vegetation, waving their forelimbs, until a host passes by (questing behaviour).
They latch on to most mammals, including dogs, cats and humans, and often attach to less furry areas: face, ears, abdomen and legs.
Unfed, they are as small as a sesame seed, but females can swell up to 200 times their size (the size of a coffee bean) when engorged.