Protecting Pets From Tick-Borne Diseases

Laurie Anne Walden, DVM

Blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus). Image credit: CDC/James Gathany.

Ticks in North Carolina are active all year round, but their activity increases dramatically in the spring and summer. Ticks spread bacteria and viruses (pathogens) that cause serious and sometimes fatal diseases in dogs, cats, and humans.
 
Ticks live mostly in tall grass, woodlands, undergrowth, groundcover plants, and secluded cracks and crevices. Some tick species infest houses.
 
Ticks that are ready for a blood meal move to the tip of a grass blade or other vegetation and wait for a host animal to come along. They climb onto an animal when it brushes past (ticks don’t fly or jump).
 
Ticks attach to an animal by clamping their mouthparts to the skin. Ticks spread pathogens when they take a blood meal. A tick has to be attached for some time before it can spread a pathogen. The amount of time depends on the tick species and the pathogen.
 
North Carolina Ticks
The geographic ranges of some tick species have expanded because of changing environmental conditions and the movement of host species like deer. Different tick species carry different pathogens, so tick-borne diseases that used to be more common in other parts of the country—like Lyme disease—are now common in North Carolina too.
 
Identifying a tick’s species can help narrow down the pathogens the tick might be carrying. These are some of the tick species that live in North Carolina:

• American dog tick
• Asian longhorned tick
• Blacklegged (deer) tick
• Brown dog tick
• Gulf Coast tick
• Lone star tick

 
You don’t need to be able to tell tick species apart. But if you’re interested, here’s the link to NC State’s guide to ticks of North Carolina: https://eit-wagpress-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/NC_Tick_Guide_v1.0_April_14_2023.pdf
 
Tick-Borne Diseases of Dogs and Cats
In dogs and cats, many tick-borne infectious diseases cause similar signs: loss of appetite, decreased energy, fever, and sometimes swollen lymph nodes and muscle or joint pain. Signs of illness appear days or weeks after a tick bite. These are some of the tick-associated diseases that affect dogs and cats in North Carolina.
 
Ehrlichiosis and Anaplasmosis
The bacteria that cause ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis are spread by American dog ticks, blacklegged ticks, brown dog ticks, and lone star ticks. Ticks can transmit Ehrlichia bacteria within 3 to 6 hours after attachment.
 
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is caused by infection with Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. Blacklegged ticks transmit Borrelia 24 to 48 hours after taking a blood meal.
 
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Other Rickettsial Diseases
American dog ticks, brown dog ticks, Gulf Coast ticks, and lone star ticks spread Rickettsia bacteria, which cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other diseases. Transmission is thought to happen 5 to 20 hours after tick attachment.
 
Tick Paralysis
Tick paralysis is caused by a reaction to a neurotoxin produced by American dog ticks, blacklegged ticks, and possibly other tick species. Affected animals have a stumbling gait that progresses to inability to move. Without treatment, this condition can be fatal. It’s treated by removing or killing all ticks on the animal.
 
Prevention
Limiting Exposure
Keep your pets away from tall grass and underbrush. When walking or hiking, keep your dog on a leash and on the path. At home, remove groundcover plants from areas your pets can access and install a border of gravel or mulch between grass and woods. Wild animals are tick carriers, so remove vegetation and food sources that attract deer and other wildlife. Thoroughly check your pets for ticks after they’ve been in a tick area. Look through the entire coat, including inside the ears, between the toes and paw pads, under the front legs (armpits), between the back legs, and under the tail.
 
Tick Preventive Products
Effective tick preventives are available by prescription from your veterinarian and should be used all year round. Prescription products for dogs and cats are safe, but some products are better choices than others for an individual animal, so discuss the options with your veterinarian. Some products are oral (flavored chews) and others are topical (drops placed on the skin).
 
Prescription tick preventives kill ticks soon after they attach, before they’ve had a chance to transmit pathogens. Animals taking these products are protected from many tick-borne diseases but can still carry live unattached ticks in their fur. These unattached ticks can drop off in the house or move to another animal (or you), so check your pets for ticks even if they are taking a prescription product.
 
Repellents
Talk to your veterinarian about safe tick repellents if you are seeing live unattached ticks in your pet’s fur and your pet is already taking a prescription product. Repellents are available without prescription, but some are safer and work better than others. Cats are very sensitive to pyrethrins and can have severe reactions to products labeled for dogs. Read product labels carefully. Never use a product meant to treat clothing or equipment on an animal, and never use a dog product on a cat.
 
Removing Ticks
If a tick is attached to your pet, remove it with tweezers, a tick removal tool, or your fingernails protected by disposable gloves. Grasp the tick’s head at the skin and gently pull it away from the skin until the entire head comes out. Clean the area with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.
 
Avoid squashing the tick so you’re not exposed to whatever pathogens the tick is carrying. Kill the tick by placing it in a vial of rubbing alcohol or in a ziplock baggie with a cotton ball soaked in rubbing alcohol. Note the date of the tick bite in case your pet shows any signs of illness days or weeks later. If you want to be thorough, label your tick vial or baggie with the date and keep it for several weeks in case the tick is needed for identification and testing later on.
 
Vaccination
A Lyme disease vaccine is available for dogs. This vaccine is considered a lifestyle vaccine, so ask your veterinarian whether your dog should receive it.
 
Sources

• Ticks. Companion Animal Parasite Council. Updated March 30, 2023. Accessed May 25, 2026. https://capcvet.org/guidelines/ticks/
• Bertone MA, Reiskind MH, Crawley SE, Watson DW. Common ticks of North Carolina: an identification guide. North Carolina State University. April 14, 2023. Accessed May 25, 2026. https://eit-wagpress-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/NC_Tick_Guide_v1.0_April_14_2023.pdf

 
Image source: https://wwwn.cdc.gov/phil/Details.aspx?pid=7663

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