Image Courtesy of: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/clarin_bria/
A large, engorged deer tick attached to Roscoe's shoulder meant HB and I would be coming home and checking both dogs thoroughly for ticks, something we really hadn't had to do since the fall. This idea was only confirmed when I pulled a tick nymph off Flash about ten minutes later.
Once we got home yesterday night, we set about our business. You may imagine our shock when, upon examination of Roscoe, we found well over 20 ticks of various sizes embedded in his fur. Flash's short fur made him somewhat less desirable: we only found about 10 ticks on him.
We had planned on a 30-minute total once-over of both dogs, but ended up spending an hour taking ticks off the two dogs. After they were both cleaned up, we took a look at their crates, where we found literally hundreds of tiny ticks crawling all over their bedding and the bottoms of their crates. The bedding was discarded, the crates were bleached, and we cleaned the floors as well.
How we managed to get such an infestation of ticks I can only conjecture. I imagine Roscoe had one attached to him that we didn't notice, and it left its eggs to hatch in one of the crates, and the whole cycle just kept repeating itself. Still, two days ago, I had Roscoe's bedding out of his crate and there was nothing on it, so this explosion happened in just 48 hours.
Tonight, I'm picking up some tick bombs at the store and we'll be bombing the house, to ensure we don't have a repeat of last night's incident. The dogs will also be thoroughly checked for ticks again, since I found two more nymphs on Roscoe this morning.
So for those moving to the BVI, especially with animals, just a heads-up that the tick situation is far worse here than anywhere else we've ever lived. Flea & tick medicine like Frontline, along with tick collars, are strongly recommended.
Make sure you check yourselves as well...and also tyour bedding!
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