If you plan to take your dog for a nature walk, be careful about letting him or her walk through tall grasses, as your dog can get ticks. Performing tick checks after any outdoor activity ensures your pooch hasn't picked up a Brown Dog tick.
Tick control involves a four-step process:
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Sanitizing
- Treatment of the dog/pet
- Indoor treatment
- Outdoor treatment
-
-
-
-
-
-
How Bad is a Brown Dog Tick
In the absence of canine hosts, Brown Dog Ticks can and will feed on humans. It can become dangerous when this happens because, like other tick species in the U.S., Brown Dog Ticks carry diseases harmful to both dogs and humans in all their life stages.
The Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (Rickettsia Rickettsii) is a common disease-causing rash and skin irritation. It is dangerous to both humans and dogs and may be fatal to either one.
Why are they found in dog kennels and homes with Canines?
They do not transfer from one dog to another. For this reason, it is imperative to check dogs for ticks to prevent an infestation. They take shelter beneath decks and doghouses, often traveling into houses and kennels with canines and other domestic animals. They are also found in cracks and crevices around baseboards, window frames, and door frames.
How Feeding Takes Place
The feeding ticks first drop from the animal to molt before reattaching to it or another host for another blood meal. When the individuals of each feeding stage get completely engorged, they drop off the host, seeking shelter to protect them.
Males only feed for short periods before wandering offer to find a mate. Adult males and females can be found at all times of the year and can survive for 18 months without feeding.
What do Brown Dog ticks look like?
The Brown dog ticks are approximately one-eighth of an inch before they become engorged by a blood meal. Once they become engorged, they increase their length by around one-half inch. They are reddish brown in color, turning a bluish-gray color when fully engorged.
What are the Characteristics of Adult Brown Dog Ticks
An adult Brown Dog Tick or Rhipicephalus sanguineus may grow to nearly one-quarter of an inch in length. After engorging herself in a blood meal, the female may measure about one-half inch or larger.
Adult Brown Dog Ticks are dark reddish-brown with no markings. Brown dog ticks do not confine themselves to canines but will also attach themselves to many other animals and even people.
Where Can You Find Brown Dog Ticks on Canines?
On canines, adult ticks are typically found on the ears and between the toes, while immature ticks feed along the dog's back.
Outdoors, they crawl onto grasses, shrubs, and other vegetation, awaiting an unsuspecting dog to walk by.
When the dog brushes up against infested vegetation, the ticks attach themselves to the dog.
Are brown dog ticks dangerous?
Brown dog ticks can transmit the canine-related diseases canine ehrlichiosis and babesiosis and have been known to transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans.
Both nymphal and adult stages can transmit agents of canine ehrlichiosis and canine babesiosis to your pooch.
Life Cycle Stages
The Brown Dog ticks can spend their entire life cycle indoors. All stages can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever rickettsia ( Rickettsia rickettsia ) to dogs and humans.
Although Brown dog ticks generally prefer warmer climates. When they spend their life cycle inside, it permits them to establish populations in colder climates.
Adult Female
The adult female brown dog ticks feed on a dog to engorge in its blood for 6-50 days (adults can survive for 18 months without food). Females feed about a week before totally engorged. The adult female then mates and drops off the host to lay eggs and repeat the life cycle. The female dies soon after depositing her eggs.
An engorged female is fertilized by a male while still on the dog. She falls off after mating and seeks a sheltered area to lay her 1,000-3,000 eggs. She can lay her eggs in any protected area. However, egg masses are likely to be found in above-ground cracks and crevices.
Does the Brown Dog Tick Transmit Diseases?
A New England Journal of Medicine research report "linked Brown Dog ticks to the transmission of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever".
Although canines are a preferred host, they will feed on other mammals if none are available.
What is the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever?
It is an infectious disease transmitted by this insect's bite. In the U.S., it is a rare disease, with less than 20,000 people becoming infected. The disease often is characterized by a rash and can be fatal.
Symptoms of the disease include muscle aches, headache, and fever. Often at the site of the bite, a rash appears with crusted or blackened skin.
Can a Tick Bite?
The Brown dog tick does bite. One important difference between paralysis ticks and this type is that they don't cause paralysis. Yet, brown dog tick diseases can still be life-threatening.
How to Control an Infestation
Controlling brown dog tick infestations can be difficult and usually requires a four-step process of treating the pests, house, and yard, and lastly, sanitizing the house by focusing on vacuuming. The process may take several treatments and several months to eradicate an infestation.
Where do You Get Brown Dog Ticks
The brown dog tick is probably the most widely distributed insect in the world and is found throughout the US. A “clean” canine can be infested a variety of ways, including other infested residences in the area.
Dogs exposed to the environment generally pick up ticks as they walk through high grasses or the woods. Ticks go through a process known as questing as they await unsuspecting host animals.
Are the Brown Dog Tick Harmful?
Brown dog ticks can transmit the canine-related diseases canine ehrlichiosis and babesiosis and have been known to transmit certain insect tick-borne diseases to people.
Why are these ticks often found in kennels and homes with dogs?
A home can become heavily infested if the family dog picks up ticks from an infested residence, boarding kennel, open field, or similar place where other infested dogs have been present.
Rhipicephalus Sanguineus is likely the most widely distributed in the world and is found throughout the US. The Rhipicephalus Sanguineus tick is unique in its ability to complete the entire life cycle indoors.
What are the Signs of a Brown Dog Tick Infestation
The most common signs of Rhipicephalus Sanguineus infestation is spotting one in your yard, on your body, or on your pet.
How to Remove a Brown dog tick
To remove one, use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp it as close to the skin's surface as possible. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don't twist or jerk it, as this can cause the mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin.
What is a Brown dog tick treatment?
The brown dog tick treatment If you find a tick on your dog, it should be removed as soon as possible with a tick removal tool or tweezers. Grab the tick adjacent to your pet's skin (at the tick mouthparts), twist the tick, then pluck the tick away from the skin. Take care not to squeeze the tick's body.
What Diet Do Brown dog ticks Prefer?
As their name implies, these ticks prefer to feed on the blood of canines. They are also known to bite and feed upon people and other animal hosts.
Where Are Brown Dog Ticks Found?
These tick populations can be found throughout the world, including areas with frigidly cold outdoor temperatures. These tick species live throughout the eastern U.S. as well as areas of the West Coast. However, they are more likely to inhabit warm environments and are prolific in the southern areas of the United States.
How do Ticks Infest a Home
These ticks are notorious for infesting homes once brought inside, typically via pets such as dogs. Once inside, female ticks will drop off their host and lay eggs in any crack or crevice. An infestation can create hundreds of immature ticks after a few short weeks.
Do Ticks Jump from Dogs to Humans?
Rarely will one of these ticks bite humans. They typically prefer a canine host as they are parasites to domestic dogs.
Where do ticks go in the house?
Brown dog ticks live primarily outdoors in the Southern United States. However, in the Northern United States, they are known for coming indoors.
Does the brown dog tick transmit Lyme disease?
The majority of pet owners are aware of the dangers ticks present to their pets. However, Brown dog ticks are not known to transmit Lyme disease.
Can You See Tick Eggs on a Dog?
Male ticks have tiny pits scattered over its back. These ticks are normally reddish-brown. When engorge, they become a bluish-gray color.
How Long Does it Take for These Tick Eggs to Hatch?
These dark brown eggs are usually laid in masses of 1,000-3,000. Once they hatch, the larval ticks will usually feed on pets like dogs or cats but can also be found on people.
What Home Remedy Kills Ticks on Dogs?
To get rid of ticks, you must first clean the area to remove debris and eliminate as many ticks as possible. Paying close attention to areas your pet rests and bedding material.
How do You Get Rid of Ticks on Dogs?
The best way to prevent ticks is by being aware of where your pets go, as well as administering proper medications to prevent brown dog ticks.
Contact a Professional Pest Control Company to Get Rid of a Tick Infestation
Tick control is difficult and may require the services of a professional pest control operator. If you have a Brown Dog Tick Infestation, call us.
We know how to get rid of Brown dog tick populations and other insects. Contact A.N.T. Pest Control. Our professional technicians are familiar with all forms of tick control.