It may not feel like it some days, but spring has officially sprung! Sunnier skies, blooming flowers, longer trail walks with your furry friends….and TICKS! We see the signs of warning outside veterinary offices all over the city this time of year…it’s important to protect our pets and ourselves from this nasty pest. But while we know ticks are bad news…why are they so scary and dangerous?

Ticks often inject their hosts with nerve poison.

If you’ve ever been bitten by a tick but didn’t feel it, it’s not because you’re insensitive (no matter what your significant other says 😛 ). The fact is that sometimes ticks inject anaesthetic into their host’s bloodstream, a sort of nerve poison that contains neurotoxins. Although some people have an allergic reaction to the toxin, for most of us, it acts as a very local anaesthetic, preventing us from feeling the bite—and the subsequent bloodsucking. That’s just good manners? NO THANKS!

Some ticks can live for a really long time without food.

Instead of starving to death when they can’t find a host to feed upon, sometimes ticks go into a sort of stasis until the situation improves. Meaning many ticks can survive harsh Canadian winters, only to pop up when you least expect it, in temperatures as low as 4 degrees C! Sneaky buggers.

Lyme disease isn’t the only tick-borne illness that can come from a walk in the woods.

Health experts are warning that another pathogen, Powassan virus, can cause dangerous inflammation in the brain and may be transmitted to humans much faster than Lyme. While it is rare, a recent study of ticks in Maine, along with a few widely reported cases of human infection, suggest that it may be becoming more common. The virus causes encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, and it kills about 10% of people who become sick.  What’s worse, about half of people are left with permanent neurological problems.

OK – I’m scared! What now?!

Get prepared with your own “tick kit” handy when you head outdoors, and keep another safe at home. Know exactly where these kits are so you’re ready to jump into action and get those little bloodsuckers!

Check out this handy guide to protecting yourself with a tick kit!

Stay safe and have fun!