Tick Medications & Prevention

Note: Do not assume that a flea treatment will also kill ticks, most do, but not all. On the other hand, many flea and tick treatments will kill other pests such as mites and lice as well. For any product check the list of pests that are killed.

See the table of the Common Flea and Tick Treatments.
 

Handle and use tick treatments with care

Products for killing ticks are pesticides, it is important for safety of both the dog and humans that the products are used properly.

• Handle with care; do not get on your skin, in eyes etc.
• Apply according to directions
• Apply in the correct location(s)
• Use the correct dosage for your dog’s weight – do not apply extra
• If a dog is a young puppy, old, pregnant or nursing only use products that are approved for that life stage

 

There are a number of dogs that get poisoned and even die from incorrect use of flea and tick treatments – see Are flea and tick medications making your dog sick?

Spot On Back Treatments

This type of treatment is applied to back of the dog, usually between the shoulder blades. A dog cannot reach this area, and therefore cannot lick or scratch this area.

It is important to only apply on the back. When the treatment is first applied, before it has spread, there is enough pesticide to protect the whole dog in just one area. If your dog could lick this amount of pesticide and swallow it, they would get poisoned. The Spot On type treatment are for external (topical) use only.

Follow the instructions carefully when applying.

After application of the Spot On product it spreads over the skin into the oil (sebaceous) glands. The product will then slowly come back onto the skin through the hair follicles, giving a continuous application to the skin. This means that a Spot-On product only needs to be applied once per month.

Spot On treatments are waterproof, but many vets advise keeping your dog out of the water for a day or so after application.

Collars

There are several brands of tick collars available. They will last at least several months.

Wear gloves when handling a collar, since they are impregnated with pesticide to kill the ticks. So not let allow young children to play with the collar.

Chewable Tablets

Most of the chewable tablets do not control ticks. Revolution is the most common tablet that will kill ticks. It requires a prescription.

Sprays

Most sprays are used for controlling flea infestations and are not useful for ticks. The most common spray that works on ticks is Frontline Spray. This is a monthly product. However, since treatment involves spraying a month’s worth of pesticide onto a dog, if you decide to use the product read the instructions and follow the directions carefully. It is easy to get the product on your skin and in both your own, and your dog’s, eyes.

Diseases Carried By Dog Ticks

Ticks are vectors for a number of diseases, several of which can spread to humans and other pets.

Tick-borne diseases found in dogs include;

• Lyme Disease
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
• Tularemia
• Ehrlichiosis
• Babesiosis
• Hepatozoonosis
• Anaplasmosis
• Haemobartonellosis
• Tick paralysis

 

Some of these diseases can occur in humans. Many of these diseases can occur in pets other than dogs. The symptoms can range from minor to severe, and death. All of these diseases are caused by microorganisms, except the last one in the list, tick paralysis.

In tick paralysis the saliva of the tick contains a toxin which will cause weakness and paralysis. Eventually a dog will collapse and die. Once the tick(s) have been removed a dog will start to improve, though the dog may need veterinary care for a while.

Tick lifecycle

Eggs

An adult female tick will lay eggs in dense vegetation. Depending on the species there can be anywhere from about 100 to 10,000, or more, eggs. The eggs will usually hatch in about 2 weeks.

Larva

An egg hatches into larva, which has 6 legs. Larvae are usually found close to the ground. A larva will try to attach itself to an animal. Depending on the type of tick and the location this is usually a small mammal such as rodent or bird. In the case of dog ticks the larvae prefer dogs, but can attach to other pets or even you. After several days of feeding the larva will drop off the animal. The larva will digest the blood and grow.

Nymph

The larva will molt (shed skin) into a nymph, which has 8 legs. The nymph will then try to attach itself to a animal to feed. Once it has fed it will drop off the animal. Depending on the tick species a nymph may molt once, or more than once, before becoming an adult.

Adult

An adult tick, which has 8 legs, will usually climb higher off the ground, since they often attach to a bigger animal than the larva and nymphs. The tick will feed for many hours, becoming many times bigger than prior to feeding. Some species can feed for up to a week. Once the female has fed and is engorged with blood, they will mate with a male, lay eggs and the cycle starts again.

 
Previous Page – Dog Ticks – Finding, Local Control
 
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See also How to remove a tick.