Tick season has begun and residents of the southeast area are being reminded to keep an eye out for the crawling nuisance. 

"The most common species of tick we have here is the American Dog Tick," explains veterinarian Dr. Carol Ross of the Prairie Animal Health Centre. 

"Mostly what you're seeing this early in the spring is adult ticks that have overwintered and they are looking for a blood meal in order to finish their life cycle," she explains. "So once those ticks get their meal, then they're going to drop off the host and lay their eggs in the brush and then they'll form the nymph and larval stages and those are the stages we'll see later in the year."

She adds that the nymph and larval ticks are very small and difficult to see. They also use different hosts such as mice, birds and larger rodents. The adult ticks attach themselves to larger hosts such as deer, dogs and humans. 

She pointed out that it is the deer tick, not the American dog tick, or the wood tick as it is otherwise known, that carries the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. 

"If you see a tick that looks strange compared to other ticks you're used to seeing, you can bring it in and we can submit it to the Public Health Agency. There is ongoing surveillance to make sure that we don't have those Lyme disease ticks because that would be significant for the health of both the people and the dog population."

Because these ticks do not carry Lyme disease, the process to remove the tick isn't as crucial. 

"Basically just grabbing it close to the attachment site, by the head, and pulling it off is the most effective," she explains. "There are tick pickers that you can use if you really don't want to touch the tick yourself. A lot of people just find them so gross they don't even want to touch them. But it's not a disease risk because it won't have Lyme disease."

She adds that for people, prevention is really the only thing you can do and avoid areas where ticks live such as long grass and brush areas. However, for dogs, there are prescriptions that can be used to keep the bugs away.  

"There are some excellent products to prevent ticks," she says. "There is a topical oil that is very effective last for 3 weeks, and two newer chewable oral products that are also very effective."