Ticks: Tiny, Sneaky… and Very Good at What They Do
- bridgecityvetrehab
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
What pet owners should know about ticks in Saskatchewan
Ticks may be small, but they are incredibly effective parasites — and unfortunately, they are very good at going unnoticed.
As the weather warms up, tick prevention and routine checks become an important part of protecting your pet.
First things first: ticks are not insects
Ticks are actually part of the Arachnida class, meaning they are more closely related to spiders than insects.
Ticks have 3 hosts in their lifetime
Ticks go through three life stages:
Larva
Nymph
Adult
At each stage, they typically need to feed from a different host in order to continue developing.
That means one tick will feed on three separate hosts throughout its life.
And here’s something many people don’t realize:
Ticks spend most of their life OFF the host
Although they stay attached and feed for several days once they find a host, ticks actually spend most of their life in the environment — not on a host.
They can survive for years, waiting for the right opportunity to feed.
How do ticks find a host?
Ticks don’t jump, fly, or drop from the sky.
They locate hosts mainly by:
Detecting carbon dioxide (CO₂) from breathing animals
Questing
Questing is when a tick waits on grass, brush, or other low vegetation with its front legs stretched out, ready to latch onto a passing animal or person.
Myth busting: ticks do NOT fall out of trees
This is one of the biggest misconceptions.
Ticks are most often picked up from:
Tall grass
Brush
Leaf litter
Trails and wooded edges
They quest from ground level, not from tree branches above.
How ticks attach (and why they’re so hard to notice)
Ticks are built to feed without being easily detected.
Their saliva contains substances that help them stay attached and feed successfully, including:
Anti-inflammatory compounds
Anticoagulants
Anesthetic-like properties
That means the area often doesn’t become immediately itchy, irritated, or painful.
Once a tick finds a place to attach, it will:
Settle onto the skin and numb the area
Open its palps and brace against the skin
Cut a small opening in the tissue
Insert a straw-like feeding structure called the hypostome
Anchor itself with tiny hooks and a glue-like substance called cementum
Then… it feeds.
And it can remain attached for several days.
Why ticks can spread disease
Ticks don’t simply “bite and leave.”
As they feed, they take in blood, process what they need, and can then regurgitate material back into the host.
This is how pathogens can be transmitted.
Some diseases spread by ticks include:
Lyme disease
Anaplasmosis
Babesiosis
And others
While the risk of tick-borne disease in Saskatchewan is lower than in some other parts of Canada, these diseases do absolutely occur here.
That means tick prevention is important — even if we don’t live in the highest-risk region.
The smallest ticks are often the easiest to miss
One of the biggest challenges with ticks is that the early life stages can be extremely tiny.
Larvae and nymphs can be about the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen
They are often much harder to spot than large adult ticks
By the time you find a large, engorged adult female, she has often already been attached and feeding for days.
And yes… they reproduce in large numbers
After feeding as an adult, a female tick can lay thousands of eggs.
So even though they’re tiny, they are very efficient survivors.
Do ticks die in the winter?
Not necessarily.
Ticks do not all die off in winter.
Many enter a dormant survival state called diapause, which allows them to “wait it out” until temperatures become favorable again.
Once it warms up, they can become active.
So tick season can start earlier — and last longer — than many people expect.
What pet owners can do
The good news is there are simple steps you can take to help protect your pet:
Tick prevention tips:
Get your pet on a tick prevention product prescribed by your veterinarian.
Do daily tick checks, especially after time outdoors
Pay close attention to:
Around the ears
Under the collar
Around the neck
Between the toes
In the armpits/groin
Be extra cautious after walks in:
Tall grass
Brush
Trails
Wooded or overgrown areas
The bottom line
Ticks are small, stealthy, and built to do exactly what they do.
They:
Can live for years
Are often hard to see
And can transmit disease; including the ones located in Saskatchewan.
If you have questions about tick prevention or found a tick on your pet, we’re always happy to help.
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