Ticks are not only annoying and induce allergies, itching or inflammation. They can also transmit chronic, and to some extent life-threatening, illnesses to pets and humans. Vets from the specialist retail chain Fressnapf explain how pet owners can best protect their four-legged friends against ticks.

What you should know about ticks
Ticks feed on blood. They get this from so-called "host" animals such as mice and birds, but also cats and dogs. Under certain conditions, the ticks take in pathogens with their meal of blood with which they can infect the next host animal: diseases such as borreliosis, babesiosis (dog malaria), ehrlichiosis and springsummer encephalitis are the most frequently occurring in this country. The main carriers are the castor bean and lowland forest species of ticks which are widespread in central Europe.

How to protect your pet from ticks
Avoid long grass, hedges, and bushes when out walking. Ticks can also lurk in your own garden. Their most active period starts in the spring and continues through to November. Inspect your free-roaming cat or dog regularly and thoroughly for ticks and remove them immediately. The pathogens can sometimes only reach the blood hours after the first bite so you have a chance of preventing infection.

Treatment and prevention
Removal is best carried out with special tick tweezers. Apply them as close to the head of the tick as possible. Pull the insect right out with one twist. Sometimes, however, ticks remain undiscovered even after a thorough search. Therefore, products with a twofold effect are recommended as a preventative measure. On the one hand, they work as a repellent and on the other, kill the ticks which have attached themselves. So-called "spot-on preparations" in the form of sprays, collars or drops have proved to be effective. The active ingredients distribute themselves in the coat or on the body's outer skin layer. These products should be renewed regularly. Fressnapf's vets will also answer your questions on tick prophylaxis at: www.fressnapf.de/tierarzt

At the appearance of symptoms - off to the vet
The following alarm signals can be signs of a disease which has been transmitted by ticks:

• lameness
• movement disorders
• exhaustion
• loss of appetite
• weight loss
• fever
• fpains in the legs
• swollen joints

Tick prophylaxes Spot-on preparations have proven themselves in the fight against ticks. Some preparations are applied as droplets. The effective ingredients distribute themselves in the fur or upper skin layers. (Photos may only be reproduced with permission and in connection with editorial text. High-resolution photos can be requested from the Fressnapf press office.)