Ticks on the move: Early season on the High Desert

You might have noticed ticks on your pets, or even yourself. That’s because tick season has started early on the High Desert.

Ticks are expected at the beginning of April, but this year they were seen as early as January.

One local vet said. found 45 ticks on one dog.

“We had to pull the hair up and find them,” veterinarian Dr. Deborah LaPaugh said Wednesday.

The dog got them during a walk north of Redmond.

“There are a lot of different problems that can be associated with tick bites,” LaPaugh said.

“Lyme disease has been increasing across the whole country, for humans and pets by 25 percent, which is significant in the last couple years,” she added.

However, no cases of Lyme disease in pets have been reported in Central Oregon.

“I certainly have seen (ticks) earlier this year then I’ve ever seen them before,” veterinarian Dr. Schmotzer said.

Dogs, cats and horses are all at risk.

“(They) seem to like underneath the chin, between the jawbone and underneath the belly,” said Dr. Wayne Schmotzer of Bend Equine Medical Center.

Also, humans are at risk. One viewer told us her son got a tick from playing in their backyard near downtown Bend.

“If you pull too hard too quickly, they will split,” Schmotzer said.

LaPaugh explained, “Grab it, really close to its head and really close to the skin and twist it off so that ideally you are gently pulling the head out.”.

You’ve been talking about the blood-sucking insects on social media.

“This warm weather is just ideal, and the ticks are out and about,” Shcmotzer said.

You can find ticks in wooded areas, near rivers, and where deer winter.

Veterinarians urge you to use the proper protection for your pets before taking them out, to prevent them getting ticks.