Tick season is here for many parts of Saskatchewan

While the spring weather may be taking its sweet time to take hold in the province, some areas are already seeing a less-welcome aspect of the warmer weather.

Ticks have woken up in parts of Saskatchewan, according to Dr. Emily Jenkins, a professor of veterinary microbiology at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatoon.

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“We’re starting to get some hits on our monitoring program, which is called eTick, which allows members of the public to report ticks that they’ve found on themselves or their pets,” Jenkins explained.

“I’d say my inbox started filling up in the last week… so they’re definitely starting to be active in some parts of the province.”

Jenkins said the snow-packed areas of Saskatchewan likely won’t start seeing larger tick activity until after that snow is gone, even though April is typically the beginning of tick season across the province. According to Jenkins, temperature, wind conditions and the amount of snow on the ground all affect tick activity.

“There aren’t too many ticks that are going to dig their way through a couple of feet of snow to find their prey,” she joked.

With Tuesday’s warmer weather in central and southern areas, Jenkins said she expects the number of messages she’s getting about ticks will increase significantly.

The main species of tick in Saskatchewan is the dermacentor species, or American dog tick, while there are also a few pockets of Rocky Mountain wood ticks. These types of ticks are generally getting their start at this time of year, with the peak activity in May and June. Jenkins said when the hotter weather hits in July and August, those ticks tend to go underground and there won’t be much activity from them.

“However, Saskatchewan is starting to get more and more reports of the black-legged tick, the one that carries lyme disease and other pathogens we don’t really want,” explained Jenkins. “They’re starting to show up more and more in the province, and those ones tend to be most active in fall.”

She said many people have forgotten about ticks by that time of year and stopped giving their pets tick protection, while also failing to do tick checks on the animals and themselves. The black-legged tick is most likely to find a host in October and November before the first hard frost hits.

“If you are unlucky enough to see a tick then, it’s more likely to be the black-legged tick that we’re more concerned about than our normal dog ticks,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins said she works closely with the province and the public health division to monitor black-legged tick activity, though they haven’t fully established a stronghold in Saskatchewan.

“That’s one we’re certainly monitoring very closely, because it is not supposed to be here, it’s not supposed to be able to establish here, and it’s one that we think is kind of poised on the brink of invading and setting up,” Jenkins explained. “But that remains to be seen.”

The habitats in which people tend to pick up American dog ticks include sunny meadows along trails and wherever there is grass and long shrubs. Jenkins said those ticks are good at finding prey like dogs, deer and people by hanging out near trails and other similar areas. Black-legged ticks are creatures of the forest, she said, and they love deciduous tree litter.

There are places and times that have more tick activity than others, and Jenkins recommended keeping an eye out for any that may have latched onto your pets or yourself. The most common ticks in the province are fairly large and can usually be picked off of animals relatively easily, Jenkins said, and there are also a variety of veterinary products that help protect dogs.

For humans, wearing long sleeves and long pants tucked into socks on those hikes helps keeps ticks away. High concentrations of DEET also helps to repel ticks, according to Dr. Jenkins, and it’s always important to do tick checks after venturing through grassy areas.

“(Ticks are) part of the ecosystem, and we can work around them,” Jenkins said.

She recommended people sign up for the free eTick program. They can take pictures of any ticks they spot and submit them to eTick through their app or their website. Jenkins said help from the public allows researches to collect data and develop a better understanding of which ticks are active in specific parts of the province at any given time.