Yellow dog ticks are hard-bodied arachnids in the family Ixodidae. Yellow dog ticks are also called dog ticks or African dog ticks in different parts of the world. Dog Ticks are also associated with transmitting Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) to humans through biting. Most tick species are found in regions with a higher level of humidity and thick vegetation cover. They're also found in tall and dense grasses and need a suitable carrier to relocate. They primarily depend on the livestock, especially the grazing herds, pets, and humans as they’re not flyers. Since, they prefer to live in greenish areas such as home gardens, lawns, and pastures, it is not strange to find them on edible and ornamental plants, orchards, patios besides pets, especially dogs and cats. Sometimes they may enter homes and could create trouble for the home-dwellers.
The yellow dog tick is native to Southern Asia, Africa, New Zealand, and Australia that spreads to the rest of the world with a significant increase in pet tourism from remote areas to highly urbanized locations. The yellow dog tick is prevalent in Southern Africa, Western Africa, South Asia, Horn of Africa, and East Africa besides many European countries, and throughout South and North America in rangelands, pastures, home gardens, and pets. The tick bites are not hurting or irritating, they can easily go unnoticed for longer. For this reason, if you live in a town, or if you have a garden, be vigilant of their bites and take measures.
The adult ticks have 8-legs, and they're typically yellow with reddish-brown markings on the dorsal shield. The female size could vary depending on the amount of blood-fed. The males remain 3.5 mm long, whereas a female could reach 5 mm. Females are characterized by a small dorsal scutum, while the male scutum covers the entire dorsal surface. Fully-fed females could measure 15 mm long and 10 mm wide. Often, the larvae are 6-legged, whereas the nymphs with 8. Larvae are also long and yellow that become grey or black after feeding on blood. Nymphs are light yellow that turns gray after blood feeding. Both stages of immature ticks may have variable markings near their eyes. Nymphs don't possess genital organs.
Yellow Dog ticks emerge as 6-legged larvae, convert into an 8-legged nymph, and adults. Each stage needs a separate blood meal to progress into the next. Overall, the lifecycle requires 3 different hosts, and a minimum of 54-days under favorable conditions But, it may take up to two years depending on the host availability, temperature, and location of the host. A minimum of 14-days of blood-feeding may drop a female from the host. A female prepares her eggs to clutch in the next 10-days and lays about 4000 to 6000 eggs on the ground. The eggs hatch in about 4 to 6 weeks, depending on the surface temperature. After hatching, larvae seek opportunities to stick to their first feeding host. They could survive unfed for 11 months. After climbing a host, it feeds for another 14 days and drops to the ground to molt into a nymph. It period completes in around a week or 14-days.
The dog ticks are the primary vector for the pathogen that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF) in humans. It also transmits the causal organism of tularemia and could cause canine tick paralysis. Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is an infectious disease that develops rashes within two to five days. The rashes start in the wrists and ankles and move up to the rest of the body. The Canine tick paralysis can also occur in dogs if the ticks remain attached to their neck for seven days. It releases a salivary gland protein into the dog’s body. Paralytic symptoms may become apparent through loss of reflex actions. If the tick is not removed, respiratory failures could prove fatal. Such paralysis is not limited to dogs; it can happen in children.
Your dog may get ticks after she returns from the questing in nearby woods, grasses, and mating with neighbors' dogs. Your dog may also get ticks while crawling and hanging out in the garden in shrubs and grasses around.
Besides all preventive measures if Yellow Dog or other Tick species prevail your property, here are the most proven ways to suppress their population using the biological and organic methodologies;
Besides several natural predators like birds, nematodes, and parasitoid wasps, Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria is also an effective biological control for the ticks provided it applies to their hosts directly. Biological insecticide Bt is a DF formulation that easily mixes in water and applies to mammalian bodies and plants together. It comes in a 54% dry flowable formulation. The Bt Cry toxin dissolves in the high pH ticks' gut and becomes active. The bacteria attack the gut cells and punches holes in the lining. The Bt spores spill out of the gut and germinate on ticks causing death within a couple of days.
Add ½ to 1 ounce of Dipel Pro DF per gallon of water and apply on ticks affected dogs and plants together.
BotaniGard contains 22% of Beauveria bassiana, microscopic fungus spores that exist naturally in the soil. When Beauveria bassiana applies to the ticks, they germinate and infiltrate their chitin, and grow within the body of ticks. It kills the ticks within 2 or 3 days. A white mold exists from the body of ticks that produces new fungal spores. The fungal spores also prove fatal for the rest of the ticks' population. They establish a long-term control on the body of the host and plants together. It is quite feasible to spray BotaniGard on a pet body besides garden plants that harbor ticks in your landscape. BotaniGard is OMRI-listed and one of the best biological controls available on the marketplace.
Add one tablespoon of BotaniGard per gallon of water and spray on dogs. The same product mixing ratio applies to the garden plants.
Bonide- Neem Oil Concentrate contains 70% Clarified Hydrophobic Extract of Neem Oil that serves as a strong feeding deterrent for dog ticks. Neem oil affects the cuticle of the dog ticks and kills them of dehydration. Neem oil is an insecticide, fungicide, and growth-regulating agent that offers many pest control functions. Neem oil can be applied directly on a body of ticks-affected dogs and garden area that anchorages them. Neem oil is OMRI-listed and dogs can be stopped for mouth-licking once the product is applied. The Pet owners can use a muzzle for a short period.
The product mixed in a ratio of one ounce per gallon of water applies both to the pets’ bodies and the areas affected with Yellow Dog ticks.
It's 70% alcohol, and when applied to dog fur for controlling yellow dog ticks, it interferes with the cellular metabolism of the ticks and dissolves the lip-protein membrane. Rubbing alcohol is rubbed directly over the bite area, and later dog ticks can be grasped using tweezers. Rubbing alcohol can be used on the entire body of the dog or a cat. If rubbing alcohol is worked well into the fur, dead ticks are pulled later in a couple of hours.
Mix one part rubbing alcohol with 3-parts of water and apply it to the dogs' fur. Otherwise, add one-part alcohol in 4-parts of water if the target is spraying a garden area. Mist spraying is required to a maximum height of 24 inches from the ground level avoiding new growth.
Dust Repellent Consists of 85% of Silicon Dioxide, and it derives from the fossilized calcareous diatoms which are a type of sharply-edged crystalline oxides that puncture Yellow dog ticks' shells. Apply with a hand duster if ticks exist on the bushy plants and grasses in your garden. Rub the dust into the pets’ fur well to kill ticks of all species. This product is OMRI-listed and kills the ticks with a physical action leaving no residues in the environment or the dog’s fur.
Check out our other guides on common garden bugs.
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