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Date Published: 31/05/2022

ARCHIVED - Increased number of ticks in Murcia: tick prevention and treatment for pets and humans

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Tick bites can be dangerous to both animals and their owners as they spread nasty diseases

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Increased number of ticks in Murcia: tick prevention and treatment for pets and humans

It’s tick season in Murcia, with the wet spring and now the high temperatures contributing to a rise in the prevalence of these parasites.

This proliferation of ticks will continue for the next couple of months, which is especially dangerous as they pose risks to both humans and pets.

Dog walkers who exercise their pets in grassy areas, meadows, wetlands or woodlands will be familiar with these insects, which look like flat, squashed, shiny spiders, waiting on blades of grass to cling to the fur of passing animals (or the hairy legs of cyclists or walkers!).

There are more than 20 varieties of ticks found in Spain, and particularly malicious are the kind of hopping or ‘homing’ ticks which don’t just passively wait for a host to walk by, but which actively jump after you.

Once aboard, they burrow into fur or hair, bite into the skin and swell with blood to resemble bloated pieces of corn attached to the skin.

And that’s not even the worst part. While tick bites are painful, the main issue is the diseases that ticks can carry and the risk surrounding the actual bite, which is prone to infections and can make humans, as well as dogs and other pets, very ill indeed.

How to prevent ticks in Spain

It is important to take preventative steps such as using repellent and checking pets for ticks after walks, both by brushing them down and checking between their toes.

Brushing yourself down is also important as the ticks can climb up clothing from socks or trouser legs and appear hours later. They also have a habit of dropping onto the floor and finding a leg up which to climb days later.

Ticks can survive for many weeks without feeding, waiting for a suitable leg to pass.

Take precautions to protect pets by applying treatments such as a liquid applied to the neck, or anti-tick tablets. In this way, any ticks that do bite will rapidly die and fall off the animal.

How to get rid of ticks if you’ve them

Killing a tick is surprisingly difficult. They should be squashed flat using a surface such as a folded piece of paper, keeping contact to a minimum, and you should always wash your hands after handling or squashing the tick.

If a tick is found on an animal, or another human, it’s important to remove it as quickly as possible, but DON’T PULL IT OUT!

Trying to pull out a tick can mean the head detaches from the body and gets stuck in your body or in your pet. Instead, dab the tick with pure alcohol or nail varnish remover and it will soon fall off.

In the case of a tick bite, after removing the insect it is vital to clean and disinfect the bite and be aware of potential symptoms, which include fever, fatigue and rashes that can last for up to a month after the tick is removed.

Although the bite itself can cause some symptoms and lead to infection, the biggest risk is the diseases that the tick can transmit. If you have been bitten yourself and observe any of these symptoms, it’s worth going to the doctor for a check-up as some expat residents have been very ill after being bitten by a tick.

If your pet is bitten by a tick, vets’ advice is to conserve the tick in a closed jar filled with alcohol so that they can identify the insect and determine which diseases it could be carrying, as each species can transmit different illnesses of varying severity.

Image: Archive

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