Dangerous Pests That Pet Owners Should Know About

Pet adoptions increase around the holidays.

Whether you’re adopting for the first time or you are an experienced pet owner, your goal is to create a safe and happy home for your new pet. You will likely research the best food recommendations, safest toys, and required vaccinations. You should also be aware of potentially dangerous pests that could make your pet sick, or worse.

dangerous pests

Spiders are potentially dangerous pests for humans and pets.

Not all spiders are dangerous. But more than that, spiders are not necessarily as dangerous as we make them out to be. Most are not venomous, actually. However, if our pet were to encounter a brown recluse or a black widow, they could suffer pain and tissue damage.

spiders can be dangerous pests for pets — Spiders can be dangerous pests for pets.

Spider fun fact: All black widow spiders are venomous, but like mosquitoes, only females are harmful to humans and pets.

The best way to protect your pet from potentially dangerous spiders is to make sure they stay clear of spider habitats. This includes wood piles and dark spaces, such as areas beneath decks.

“Kissing bug” might sound cute, but they are dangerous pests.

While higher concentrations of kissing bugs are found in southern states, such as Texas and New Mexico, the disease they spread has been reported in Massachusetts. Like ticks and mosquitoes, kissing bugs feed on warm blood. Their host, including humans and pets, actually get a parasitic infection from this pest’s fecal matter. The infection is call Chagas disease. If your dog or cat likes to chase bugs or eat them, this activity could result in severe illness or even lead to death. Symptoms of Chagas disease include lethargy, loss of appetite and neurological problems.

Mosquitoes are not just a nuisance.

Mosquitoes can be very dangerous pests to our pets too. The bite from one infected mosquito can result in heartworm infection for dogs and cats. Heartworm is particularly dangerous for dogs. If left undiagnosed and untreated, the infection can lead to the death of your precious pup. Sadly, even when a dog is diagnosed with heartworm disease, the treatment can cause death. This is because the medication used to treat the infection kills the heartworms. As they die, they begin to decay and break apart. This process can cause a piece of a dead heartworm to move into your dogs heart or lungs. Additionally, dogs can have a dangerous reaction to the medication itself. Therefore, North Reading mosquito control is essential in the spring, summer, and fall.

Ticks are dangerous pests too.

fall and winter tick control Ticks are some of the most widely known dangerous pests to humans and our pets. Not unlike a mosquito bite, a bite from a disease-infected tick can result in sever illness and death. Many believe that ticks do not quest or bite in the winter, but this is untrue. For this reason, we must be sure to employ North Reading tick control year-round. This means barrier treatment spray in the spring, summer, and fall – and tick control tubes in the late fall and winter.

Ticks are arachnids, like spiders, and live in similar habitats. They shy away from sunny areas, opting for dark outdoor spaces, such as wood piles and leaf litter. In addition to Lyme disease, ticks can cause paralysis in dogs. They can also infect your precious pet with Babesiosis, which can result in sever anemia.

So, protect your pets, new and old and have a safe and happy pet-loving home!

Also read: How can I protect my dog from Lyme disease?

Dave Macchia mosquito conrol and tick control enthusiast — Dave Macchia
Central Mass enthusiast for effective season-long mosquito and tick protection

Is Lyme antibody the answer to our lack of a vaccine?

We are hearing much about vaccines and antibodies in the COVID era. Could a Lyme antibody treatment be our new hope in the fight against the disease?

A Lyme disease vaccine was introduced in 1998, but was fraught with controversy. Though some folks, who received the FDA-approved Lyme vaccine, reported arthritis post-shot, evidence was not strong enough for the vaccine to be pulled from the market. But eventually, makers of the vaccine discontinued the shot due to lack of sales. Experts have weighed in over the years since, noting a few reasons for the vaccine’s demise. First, the public lost faith in the safety of the shot. There is also the fact that Lyme has a low morbidity rate, which resulted in the public not deeming the infection a true threat. Today, the CDC estimates that there are as many as 300,000 cases of Lyme disease in the United States each year. Though, only about 30,000 are confirmed. Now that chronic Lyme disease is more widely-accepted by the medical community, efforts to prevent infection are expanding.

Enter, Phase 1 Clinical Trials for a New Lyme Antibody Treatment

Some scientists spend most of their careers researching and developing inoculations against many types of diseases. One that has been at the forefront over the last decade, is Lyme disease. One group of scientists has gotten the green light from the FDA to begin phase one clinical trials on a Lyme antibody treatment. Their animal trials resulted in an efficacy rate of 100%. The antibody, known as Lyme PrEP, deploys, “a single human antibody, or blood protein, to kill the bacteria in the tick’s gut while the tick drinks its victim’s blood, before the bacteria can get into the human host.” The use of a single antibody reduces the likelihood of unwanted side effects, unlike a vaccine, which triggers the development of many antibodies. Developers of Lyme PrEP note that protection will come from a recurring yearly shot. The goal is to maintain protection against Lyme disease for a full nine-month period. Early trials indicate that this goal will be met, though this will be confirmed by later studies. They hope to have concluded those studies in 2022, and bring the antibody treatment to market in 2023 or 2024.

We must stay the course with current methods of Lyme prevention.

tick control Massachusetts Until we have a safe and surefire method of Lyme infection prevention, we must employ the tools we have available. The best way to prevent Lyme disease is to lower our risk of encountering ticks. We must wear protective clothing while hiking and camping. Massachusetts residents should choose professional tick control around their property from April through October – and even extend those efforts with tick tubes in the winter. We must perform a tick check on ourselves, our children, and our pets after spending time outdoors. And if you are feeling ill after a known tick bite, seek immediate medical attention.

Dave Macchia, tick control enthusiast — Dave Macchia, Central Mass tick control enthusiast

Can we eliminate Lyme disease by 2030?

Non-profit, Center for Lyme Action, issues a call-to-action with Lyme Moonshot strategy.

In a world, where Lyme disease is so prevalent, can we hope to eradicate the disease by 2030? Center for Lyme Action co-founder, Bonnie Crater believes we can. Likening the focus required to that of President Kennedy’s declaration that we would land on the moon within a decade, Crater notes, “With the right focus, the country can meet that challenge.”

Can we hope to eliminate Lyme disease by 2030?

The First Step in a Federal Fight Against Lyme Disease

In December 2019, President Trump signed the Kay Hagan Tick Act into law. This bi-partisan effort was introduced after Senator Kay Hagan died from complications of a tick-borne illness. Bonnie Crater believes that this law has laid the essential foundation for furthering federal funding to eliminate Lyme disease by 2030. Federal money would go toward better understanding Lyme, vaccine development, and better early diagnostics.

Lyme disease research funding — More Lyme research funding is required.

What is the toll of Lyme?

Deer and Lyme Disease in Central Mass Center for Lyme Action believes there are up to 2 million chronic Lyme sufferers in the United States. They believe the potential economic cost of Lyme disease exceeds $75 billion. Lyme is non-biased, and affects people of all ages, all walks of life. Due to the territorial expansion of tick populations, Center for Lyme Action says that ALL Americans should be worried about Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. We can no longer say that tick-borne diseases are only happening in the Northeast or Southeast. Climate change and deforestation are two of the contributing factors of expanding tick populations.

How can we eliminate Lyme by 2030?

massachusetts tick The Lyme Moonshot initiative declares that accelerating efforts to diagnose, treat, and prevent the disease are necessary to eliminate Lyme by the end of the decade. Center for Lyme Action is asking for the formation of a new White House office, called TICK (Tick-borne Innovation, Collaboration, and Knowledge). This new office would work to harness science and technology to step up the fight against Lyme and other tick-borne diseases by joining forces in the private sector, healthcare providers, and research institutions.

Lyme prevention is here now with professional tick control.

Current Lyme prevention is available now, and until we have achieved elimination, we must utilize the tools we have. The most important facet in Lyme prevention is at-home tick control. Professional tick control companies offer “in-season” tick barrier spray, as well as fall and winter tick tubes, which are deployed to control the emerging population in the spring. Reputable tick control companies also offer all-natural tick repellent formulas. Until tick-borne diseases no longer exist, we must be vigilant in helping prevent their spread.

Climate change, the prevalence of Lyme, and nature’s ally in Lyme prevention.

I recently wrote about how opossums are an important part of tick prevention – nature’s not-so-cute ally in tick-borne illness avoidance. Opossums are more essential than ever before, but why?

tick population is spreading and ticks are living longer — *Engorged tick after a blood meal*

According to the CDC and Quest Diagnostics, tick prevalence has reached higher levels than ever, and they are attributing it to climate change. It is believed that higher temperatures are creating the “perfect storm” for the spread of tick populations. It is believed that ticks are living longer and spreading to areas in the United States, which they have previously not inhabited. If you ask me, opossums have their work cut out for them in Lyme prevention!

Where is Lyme disease most prevalent, and where is it notably increasing?

Tick-borne illnesses used to be concentrated mainly in the Northeast United States and upper Midwest. All 50 states and the District of Columbia now have reports of tick-borne disease. In 2017, Quest Diagnostics reports that 61% of Lyme cases were in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Though, notable increases were seen from 2015 to 2017 in Georgia, Arizona, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, and Virginia.

prevalence of Lyme in the U.S. - Lyme prevention — *Lyme trends across the U.S.*

Nature’s little exterminator eliminates garden pests, worms, slugs, and disease spreading ticks – talk about natural Lyme prevention!

opossums are important for tick control and Lyme prevention in Central Mass — *Don’t harm opossums – let them do their job eliminating ticks from your property*.

I write about tick control and Lyme awareness, because it’s THAT IMPORTANT to Central Mass residents. Our state is among those with the most reported cases of Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses. It is just as important that we spread the word of the importance of the opossum’s role in tick prevention.

Many of us see them as nasty rodent-like nuisances, but they are tick magnets! Ticks love to attach themselves to opossums, and opossums are big-time groomers. They can have up to 200 ticks on them at one time, attempting to attach for a blood meal. Opossums will effectively eat most of the ticks before they attach. Opossums prevent ticks in two ways. First, ticks are attracted to them, and try to infest them. Secondly, opossums devour the offending ticks. We need not attempt to eliminate opossums from our yards – shew them away if you see them, but do not harm them!

nature's tick protection — *Mother opossums carry their babies while foraging for food – tick exterminators in training!*

Plus, it could be argued that opossums are actually pretty adorable!

As always, I hope that you have considered the importance of tick control for your Central Mass home and family. There are EPA-registered and all-natural tick control methods available in our area, which will eliminate up to 95% of the tick population around your home for up to three weeks between treatments!

Tag: lyme prevention