04/07/2026
🕷🐕 APRIL is LYME DISEASE PREVENTION in PETS Month 🐕🕷
Lyme disease is an illness caused by a type of bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) that’s transmitted through certain ticks. Both animals (dogs, cats, and horses) and people can become infected with these bacteria.
Which of these ticks causes Lyme disease? If you said the tick in the middle row, then you're correct! The blacklegged (aka deer tick) is the tick that spreads Lyme.
Blacklegged ticks take 2 years to complete their life cycle from eggs and larvae in one calendar year to nymphs and adults in the next. This tick is encountered predominately in deciduous forests as well as tall grasslands and shrubs bordering forest edges. Their distribution relies greatly on the distribution of their reproductive host, white-tailed deer. Both the poppy seed-sized nymph stage and the larger adult female stage are responsible for transmitting diseases such as Lyme disease, Babesiosis, and human Anaplasmosis.
There are several products available, including topicals, chewables and collars for tick prevention in dogs and cats. Speak to your vet about which ones repel ticks, which ones prevent ticks from biting your pet or kill the tick once your pet is bitten. And make sure it's safe to use on your pet. Products with permethrin will kill cats.
For more info. on Lyme disease in dogs: https://www.avma.org/resources/public-health/disease-precautions-hunters
For more info. on ticks and tick borne diseases: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/tickID.html or visit TickEncounter.org
