Tick and flea prevention through the Indian monsoon

Ticks are not a nuisance. They are a vector for babesiosis and ehrlichiosis, both of which land dogs in hospital every monsoon in this city, and both of which are far easier to prevent than to treat.

Why the monsoon is different

Tick life cycles accelerate in warmth and humidity. A female drops off your dog, lays a few thousand eggs in a crack in your balcony wall, and three weeks later you have an infestation that didn't exist when the rains started. The dog is the visible part of the problem; the environment is the actual problem.

What works

• Monthly spot-on treatment. The reliable backbone of prevention. Applied to the skin between the shoulder blades, not the fur.
• Long-acting collars. Six to eight months of protection, good for dogs who swim or spend time in green cover.
• Oral chewables. Convenient, and unaffected by bathing.

Your vet will pick between these based on your dog's weight, age and lifestyle. What matters more than which one you choose is that you apply it on schedule — a dose given two weeks late is a two-week gap in protection.

What doesn't work on its own

Anti-tick shampoos kill the ticks on the dog at that moment, and nothing else. They have a role during an active infestation, alongside a spot-on. They are not prevention.

Neem, garlic and essential-oil remedies circulate widely online. They do not achieve reliable kill rates, and several essential oils — tea tree especially — are genuinely toxic to cats.

Treating the environment

If you have found ticks on your dog, you have ticks in your home.

• Wash all bedding at the hottest safe temperature.
• Vacuum daily for a week, including sofa seams and skirting boards. Empty the vacuum outside.
• Seal cracks in balcony and terrace walls where eggs are laid.
• Treat the premises, not just the pet, if the infestation is established.

Checking properly

Run your fingers slowly through the coat against the direction of hair growth, every day during the monsoon. Pay attention to the ears, the webbing between toes, under the collar, the armpits and the groin — the warm, thin-skinned places ticks prefer.

If you find one, remove it with a tick hook or fine tweezers, gripping as close to the skin as possible and pulling straight out with steady pressure. Don't twist, don't burn it, don't smother it in oil. Those methods make the tick regurgitate into the bite, which is precisely how disease transmits.

When to call a vet

Lethargy, pale gums, fever, dark urine or a reluctance to stand after tick exposure are urgent. Tick fever responds well to early treatment and badly to late treatment.