The paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus)is mainly found in the bush and coastal areas of coastal areas of Eastern Australia. They may be small, but they're prolific. The female paralysis tick lays up to three thousand eggs. After hatching, the larvae climb onto nearby vegetation and look for their first hosts. Normally, this would be a bandicoot or possum, which become immune to the poison. It can live on most wildlife without harming them. It is lethal to dogs and some cats.

 

Once they have engorged the requisite amount of blood, the larvae drop to the ground, moult and turn into nymphs. Each nymph will then attach itself to a second host, do the blood-engorging thing again, hit the deck, moult to become an adult tick and find yet another host. After getting her fill of blood - often more than one hundred times her own weight - the female paralysis tick is ready to abandon her final host and lay her eggs...to start the whole cycle all over again.

 

After attaching, the tick feeds on the host’s blood, injecting small amounts of saliva into the dog in the process. The tick’s saliva contains a substance that causes the connection between the nerves and the muscles throughout the body in the dog to become disrupted. This causes weakness and eventually paralysis. This is not just limited to the muscles involved in standing and walking, but also those inside such as those involved breathing and in swallowing. This can cause breathing problems and pneumonia.

 

As a very rough general rule, for a tick to cause a dog or cat a problem it either has to be quite large (greater than four mm long) or be attached for at least four days. However there can be marked variation in the potency of the tick and also the individual dog's susceptibility to tick paralysis, which may also vary from season to season.

 

Paralysis ticks can be identified by their grey body and legs close to the head. Their legs are the best way to distinguishes them from other ticks. Paralysis ticks have one pair of brown legs closest to their head, then two pairs of white legs and then one pair of brown legs closest to the body.

 

Remember, that once your dog is showing signs of paralysis tick infestation, treatment is possible, expensive and not always successful. Prevention is best.

 

Again, there are numerous products available on the market for tick control. These include washes, powders, collars, topical applications and oral medications. 

 

We remove three or four paralysis ticks (plus other types) from our cats most days in spring and summer.  They are still around in winter too. We are fortunate that our cats are immune to them.

 

Our vet recommended Nexguard for our situation. We have five dams, a spring, a permanent creek and a seasonal creek on our property. As our dogs swim very frequently (even in winter) Nexguard is the most suitable product for our situation. We administer Nexguard orally each month (on the same day our horse's hooves are trimmed), so our puppies are exposed to it during gestation and lactation, with no negative consequences to date. Please note, that we have no affiliation with Nexguard, it is just the best product for our circumstances.

 

We recommend that you discuss your tick prevention requirements with your vet. Some dogs do have adverse reactions to tick treatments.