Ticks generally hang out in bushland and long grasses, with spring and summer known as ‘tick season’. Common animal hosts for ticks include possums and bandicoots, but ticks aren’t too fussy and they’ll readily take a dog or cat as a host.

Ways to keep your dog tick-free

There are a few ways to ward off ticks such as…

Tick treatments

There’s a whole host of tick treatments you can buy from your local pet store, vet or online. They range from oral tablets and rinses to topical spot-on parasiticides, sprays and tick collars.

Backyard blitz

Keeping your lawn short and trimming back hanging branches and bushes will help limit the number of ticks and fleas in your garden. You can also pick up a garden spray or treatment from your local garden centre or pet store or, if you’re really concerned about ticks attacking your dog, you can hire a pest exterminator.

Put a ban on bushland

Native bushland and ticks go together like fish and chips, so one way to prevent the little critters from chowing down on your dog is to ban your bow wow from roaming around in overgrown areas and long grass. This isn’t always feasible though and it’s a sure-fire way to ruin Fido’s fun! (There’s nothing worse than a dog with a sad face.)

Daily tick check

This is a must. Even if you do decide to bar your dog from running around in the local bushland, there are other outdoor areas where ticks may be lurking, which is why it pays to check your dog daily for ticks.

When checking your dog for ticks, look inside the ears, in the armpits and between the toes as well as around the neck and along the back. If you spot a rogue tick remove it immediately.

When removing ticks from pets you must be sure to do it carefully, ideally with tweezers, to ensure you remove the whole of the tick’s body.