Home » Animal Options » Articles - Paralysis Ticks

Paralysis Ticks

Adult Female Paralysis Tick

Dr Viki Dioszegi BVSc BHSc

What you need to know about ticks

From the twelve tick species which have been found on dogs in Australia only the paralysis tick (Ixodes Holocyclus) is a health hazard for small animals. It has a three host life cycle; which means it needs to find a host and engorge each phase of its development (larva, nymph, adult) during the year. (Glen Coleman, 1996)

The natural hosts are native wildlife such as bandicoots, possums, koalas and macropods but the tick occasionally will attach to domestic animals and even humans. Paralyses tick presents on the east coast of Australia only.

Click to enlarge

Humid conditions are essential for survival of the paralysis tick. Dry conditions, relatively high (32°C) and low (7°C) temperatures will kill all stages after a few days. An ambient temperature of 27°C and high relative humidity is thought to be optimal for rapid development (Clunies-Ross, 1935).

The tick population in a given year is probably governed by the rainfall in the previous year if the temperature variations have only been moderate. If there has been a cold winter in South East Queensland and also drought, the coming season won't favour tick development.

Ticks are more prevalent at certain times of the year.

Observed seasonal occurrence of life cycle of Paralysis Ticks in Australia

In South East Queensland:

Larvae appear late Feb to April/May
(not causing disease)
Nymphs March to September/October
(occasional mild disease, opportunity to gain resistance in tick infested areas)
The adult population emerges in August to February, peaking around December
(disease - tick search daily!)

Severe localised skin reaction

Paralysis tick is blind therefore it has to jump from higher points (trees, bush) to attack the target. For this reason, we mostly find it on upper body parts such as lips, chin, around eyes, ear, back of head, neck, front legs and rarely around the anus and between the toes.

The female ticks stay on the animal for 1-5 days. If you find a tick, don’t stop searching as isn’t uncommon to have 2-3 ticks. To make it trickier ticks can also fall off the animal before being found, however it always leaves a severe localized skin reaction with hardened, red, raised skin.

How to identify a paralysis tick from other harmless ticks

The middle 2 pairs of legs are lighter in colour, unlike the Bush tick and Brown Dog tick which have the same colour legs.
Legs are “bunched up” at the front of the body
They have a long mouth part which is called the “snout”

Paralysis Tick

Bush Tick

Brown Dog Tick

The saliva of the tick has local pain killer in it so the host doesn’t notice as the “teethed” mouth part digs in deep and attaches, sucking a pool of blood.

Engorged tick

Tick

Microscopic close-up

What to do if a tick is found

Immediately pull it off with forceps or a special tick remover device by grabbing and twisting in a clockwise direction.

Do not to use irritant substances such as turpentine, kerosene, or petrol. These will kill the tick but won’t make it any easier to remove and will also cause the tick to inject more toxin before dying. Chemicals will also cause a very nasty sore and unnecessary pain at the site of the tick bite.

If by any chance the head of the tick stays in the skin, scratch it out with your fingernail. The head will not inject any more poison once the body has been removed, but it may cause a foreign body reaction similar to a splinter.

These photos have been taken after pulling a tick from a dog. The head is missing as it has stayed in the dog.

Paralysis Tick

Effects of ticks

Tick saliva is neuro and cardiotoxic what means it has deleterious effect on the heart and nervous system causing ascending paralyses.

Signs of tick toxicity

lethargic
shaking
anxious
confused
dilated/non responsive pupils
panting
noisy/laboured respiration
shallow breathing
salivation
vomiting
wobbly on feet
looks like a back problem
incoordination
“losing the back end”
flaccid hind leg paralysis
voice/bark change

The toxin is not secreted in detectable amounts until 3 days of attachment. Clinical signs of the animal being sick are often seen at day 3-4 with peak toxicity on days 5-6. These 3 days gives us a chance to find and to remove ticks before they inject large amounts of toxin.

Not every animal will paralyse or get really sick. Weight, age and immune competence counts - smaller and younger animals such as puppies, kittens, foals, calves, lambs and kids are more affected.

Tick infested areas may continuously expose dogs so they develop immune resistance however it only lasts for a couple of months and not until the next season. However, infestation by adults can occur at any time of the year when conditions are suitable, even in mid winter.

In my experience if an animal is already “wobbly on it's legs”, tick antiserum administration will be required for recovery.

Are commercial flea and tick treatment are safe?

All spot-on treatments, sprays and collars are hard pesticides and pose some degree of health risk to animals. Humans who closely interact with treated dogs/cats (especially children) can be affected by the toxins.

Just remember on the packaging - “to wear gloves” and “wash off any contamination” and “avoid contact with eyes and skin”

Potential side effects are not published in the literature accompanying the products or on TV!

Quoting from Kathleen Dudley, Belvoir Publications, Inc 2002

“Given enough time, most pesticides eventually cause enough injuries that they are identified as hazards and are removed from the market.

All the “active” ingredients (<1%) in spot-on preparations-such as Frontline, Advantix, Advantage…- have been linked to serious health effects in laboratory animals.

The inert ingredients (99%) used in pesticides are as toxic, or more and are generally need to be tested only for acute toxicity in short-term studies (3-13 weeks using exaggerated dosages to compensate for the short testing periods).

Inert ingredients are protected by industry as “trade secrets” which supersedes the public’s right to know to what we being exposed and the health hazard are resulting from these exposures.”

Long-term studies are few by comparison, and the cumulative effect potential damage from continued use of one pesticide or synergistic effects of multiple products is not tested. Long-term effects of their constant use is unknown, in effect our dogs are test subjects that will determine their safety. Information for many chemicals is incomplete and may not be fully representative of its effect.

Summary of laboratory studies: (rats, mice, dogs)

Fipronil/FRONTLINE	Carcinogen, organ damage, neurotoxin, teratogen, skin problems	Thyroid cancer, altered thyroid hormones, loss of appetite, unsteady gait, incoordination, reduced fertility, fetus mortality, decreased litter size, inflammation hair loss, burning on the application side
Carbitol /inert ingredient in FRONTLINE	neurotoxin	Depression, nausea, vomiting, abdominal/ lumbar pain, bone marrow depression, lung oedema, intravascular haemolysis
Imidacloprid/ADVANTIX	Carcinogen, organ damage	Thyroid lesions, liver toxicity, increased organ weights, increased cholesterol levels, incoordination, muscle weakness, increased miscarriages
Methoprene/ FRONTLINE PLUS	Organ damage, neurotoxin	Liver enlargement, headaches, eye and throat irritation, dizziness, nausea in humans
Permethrin-PERMOXIN	Carcinogen, organ damage, neurotoxin, teratogen, autoimmune disorders	Liver and lung tumors, kidney enlargement, tremors, increased aggressive behaviour, bone marrow changes in laboratory animals
Cythioate-PROBAN	Carcinogen, teratogen	No studies on acute toxicity

Sources from - National Pesticides Information Center, PAN Pesticides database, Material Safety Data Sheets

Please click to view the Tick Prevention Overview graph which outlines all the available pesticide and natural tick prevention methods.

After all it is important to use environmental friendly methods and not poisoning our animal in attempt to wipe out fleas and ticks. If chemical control needed - use it only for short time and combination with other methods to reduce toxic exposure.

No prevention is 100% effective alone and gives 100% guarantee, so combine a few methods.

Useful tips for natural tick control

Keeping animals on a natural diet will reduce waste material build up and elimination through the skin making their body odour less attractive for parasites. Fresh food diet also increases natural immunity.
Apply Tick Stop into drinking water daily from Aug-March to develop resistance. 1 bottle of Tick Stop will be sufficient for the whole season for all your animals in the household if they share their drinking water.
Feeding supplements such as garlic, Flea Free liquid daily (blend of vinegar, garlic and citrus herbs) will absorb to the blood stream and repel parasites.
Full clip long coated animals during spring, summer
Regular salt water swimming
Use of Neem extract dip/wash/spray after shampooing during warm season (repels insects)
Local repellent twice daily if going to well known infected area with Buzz Free Zone spray
Daily tick search as routine especially the following week after rainy, humid, warm weather

Animal Options

Veterinary Clinic