Spinose Ear Tick

Blogging has been a little hit & miss lately. Sorry. It is not that we haven't been busy, or that there haven't been interesting cases, to the contrary. It seems like we've had a rash of crazy trauma cases, and those aren't the type of thing that lend themselves to blogging. It's not like you can ask an owner if you can stop and take picture of the bleeding, mangled dog before you begin treatment. And asking whether or not you can blog about their poor pet seems in bad taste. So, that's how it has been.


Anyway, last week we had a rather mundane "check dog ears" from the western part of the county. And this is what we found -- a spinose ear tick (Otobius megnini). The spinose ear tick can infest many warm blooded animals, but seems to prefer cows, horses, dogs, cats, and even humans. It can be a real problem in livestock, causing poor condition with heavily infested cattle. We have seen several of these ticks in the past few years, all from the relatively arid parts of Whitman county. In dogs, infestation of the spinose tick causes severe head shaking, pain, and digging at the ear. Severe oozing skin infections can result from the bite. Most people assume that there is just a grass seed or awn in the ear canal.


As it turns out, only the nymph and larval stages of this tick feed on blood. The adults apparently do not feed at all, and can live for up to 2 years. The feeding stages of this tick like to crawl into ears, especially deep into the horizontal canal and attach to the skin where they feed on blood and wax in the ear. The spinose ear tick can cause tick paralysis and can also spread diseases such as Q-fever, tularemia, Colorado tick fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (although not necessarily in this area of the country). Treatment for infestation involves applying an acaricide solution (typically permethrin or amitraz) directly into the ear canal if the tick cannot be removed manually. In cattle, permethrin impregnated ear tags are helpful in prevention of infestation.

Kind of gives you the creeps, huh?

Fly Control

Tis the season for flies -- flies feeding on your cattle, flies biting on your horses, and flies munching on your picnic. Flies are nasty and a nuisance, but why should you be concerned about controlling them on your livestock and horses? Let's make a list.

1. Flies spread diseases such as pink eye and upper respiratory viruses in cattle. Horse flies are reported to be one of the major vectors in the spread of Equine Infectious Anemia.
2. Flies lay eggs which turn into maggots in a wound or moist area on an animal. These maggots can cause major infections in the skin and deeper tissues if not treated.
3. Bot flies or heel flies lay eggs on the legs of cattle and horses that are ingested by the animals and then the larvae travel through the body causing damage and can eventually rupture out through the skin (makes you cringe). Another type of fly lays eggs that hatch and burrow into the skin causing "pigeon breast" in horses.
4. Flies bite the ventral thorax and abdomen of cattle and horses causing "summer sores." These are raw, irritated, and tender areas. Horses get bites in their ears causing them to be bloody and tender, and thus making them more head shy.
   
5. Bites from many flies causes generalized annoyance and decreased milk production in cattle.
6. Do we need to continue?
   

So what do we recommend for treating flies in cattle and horses? Well, our preferred fly control in cattle is Ultra Saber. It is a pour-on product that can last 1-3 months depending on the amount of precipitation that we get. We just treated our cows with it two weekends ago and they are fly-free right now. Great product and a great price (under a $1 per head).

For horses we recommend Equi-Spot. This product is also a pour-on type application that lasts 2-3 weeks depending on precipitation and sweating. This 3-pack costs under $10. Many people ask about fly sprays. They work OK, but you have to apply them daily for the best fly control.

Bottom-line, fly control is important not only for your picnic, but for your livestock and horses as well. Have a great 4th of July!

Tick Season is Upon Us

Tick season is in full swing on the Palouse. If you live in an area with lots of brush or tall grass, or you have visited such a place, you already know that. We have seen quite a few ticks at the clinic and have been dispensing tick products like crazy. So, why would you want to spend good, hard earned money on a tick product when you can remove the ticks yourself? Well, because it is summer and you are busy. You have good intentions to check your dogs and cats for ticks, but life just gets in the way.

Why is tick control important? Because ticks can cause systemic and localized diseases in your pet. If a tick is allowed to attach to a pet or person, at the very least a localized infection can occur, and at the very worst, systemic diseases such as Lyme Disease, Babesiosis, or Tick Paralysis could be the result. By controlling ticks on our pets, we can help to keep ticks out of our homes and off ourselves as well (good hygiene is still important ;). Here is a {good link} from Washington State Department of Health to find out about the health aspects of tick bites in humans. Much of what they have to say is applicable to dogs as well.

We recommend Frontline Topspot for ticks. We don't have a flea problem in most of our county, so Frontline Plus is not really needed. We like the ease of application, the quality of protection, and the price. You can find a coupon for Frontline on their website linked above.

Here is another {good link} from Cornell University that talks about tick species, life cycle, and behavior. The common ticks that we have around here are the American Dog Tick and the Brown Dog Tick. We occasionally get a Spinous Ear Tick found mostly down by the Snake River. When we get another one in, I will be sure to get a picture to show you. They sound scary, but are just mostly interesting (unless you have it in your ear!).

So why does it seem that dogs get more ticks than cats? I think the main reason is that most cats are fastidious groomers, so they would likely remove a tick before it has a chance to get attached. But, it does happen--cats can have ticks -- so be sure and check your cats for ticks as well.