Tick season is here again in Northeastern Minnesota, and Savage has been doing his best to collect as many as possible. For as long as I can remember, ticks weren't seen here often, but in the past two years the dog tick population seems to have exploded, probably due to mild winter weather. Because of the scarcity of true deer ticks in our immediate area, Lyme's disease is not one of my main concerns, though the entire state's Lyme's infections hit record numbers last year. Just the experience of plucking a tick off of Savage or (heaven forbid!) finding one crawling on myself is enough to make me shudder.
We have around 13 species of ticks in Minnesota, but the most encountered ones are American Dog Ticks (or Wood Ticks), Brown Dog Ticks (or Kennel Ticks), and Deer Ticks (or Black-Legged Ticks). In any instance, I try not to examine them that carefully, but I'm positive that the ones that we are dealing with on an almost daily basis are American Dog Ticks. They are found in fields and underbrush, using carbon dioxide, scent, body heat, vibrations,etc. to locate a suitable host. They are known as "three-host ticks" because each stage of their lives: larva, nymph, and adult: uses a different host and their life cycle usually takes two years to complete. According to my research, American Dog Ticks are carriers of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (a bacterial illness), and tuleremia (also known as "rabbit fever"), but apparently these diseases are very rare in Minnesota.
I have never treated Savage with any commercially available tick/flea preventative such as Frontline or K9 Advantix, or any sprays, dusts, or flea collars, because of the possible adverse reactions. The Evironmental Protection Agency oversees the sale of all pesticides in the United States and their website has a fact sheet on flea and tick control products if you would like more information.
I have always believed that a poison designed to kill a living organism, no matter how small, cannot be good for dogs, either. Therefore, Savage and I will be experimenting with natural tick prevention this summer. Last year I boiled lemon slices and fresh rosemary to spray on him to control black flies, and it seemed to work pretty well. I've read that apparently this is helpful for repelling ticks, also. The only problem we have with the lemon/rosemary mixture is that he wouldn't tolerate the spraying, so I had to rub it on him with my hands.
American Dog Ticks are considered generally active between April and June, so maybe we will be lucky and get through the next month without encountering too many of the disgusting little parasites.