Time to check: tick season already underway in Saskatchewan

Pesky ticks are already back to bugging humans and pets in Saskatchewan.

Saskatoon Veterinarian Henry Kucharski noted a change in when ticks arrive in the province.

“Fifteen years ago I’d only see one or two ticks between June or July,” he said. “Now they start in March and sometimes we find them in the winter time.”

Kucharski links the drastic increase in ticks to migrating birds.

“Deer also bring them here, which is a concern because of lime disease and we used to never see them before,” he said. 

As for treatment, Kucharski said prescription drops work best to get ticks off pets.

“The tick doesn’t really like that product. Not only does it kill them, but they don’t want to even bite to feed,” he said.

Kucharski said he expects the tick season to be even worse this year.

“They just keep getting more intense year after year because each tick produces thousands of eggs,” he said.