Protecting Your Pet From Ticks

What are ticks?

Ticks are parasites with large jaws that attach to pets, and humans, and feed on their blood. Ticks live on grass and other plants and leap onto a host as they pass by. When they attach they are generally very small, but they grow rapidly when they latch on and start feeding. They may also change colour when feeding too, often going from brown to a pearly grey. 

The most common tick in the UK is the sheep tick, or castor bean tick, and it does look like a bean when fed. Initially, ticks are small, but they can become over a centimetre long if they take a full meal!

As well as being uncomfortable, if the ticks are not removed properly, infections can develop. It is the diseases carried and transmitted by ticks that pose the largest risks to our pets – these diseases can be life-threatening in some cases.