ticks

The long Memorial Day weekend is the official start of camping season. And while hanging in the woodsy outdoors is fun, it increases the risk of being bit by a tick and contracting Lyme disease and other types of tick-borne infections, like Rocky Mountain spotted fever or tularemia. Blacklegged ticks (aka deer ticks), lone star ticks, and American dog ticks are all on the list of things you don't want touching your body.

The first step in protecting yourself is to keep ticks off of you. Wear bug repellent and protective clothing that covers the majority of your skin. Whenever you leave a woodland area, give yourself a tick check — wearing light-colored clothing will make it easier to spot any bugs on you.

Find out how to remove a tick from your body and spot symptoms of Lyme disease when you read more

If your pup is unlucky enough to have bites from these yucky blood suckers, make a switch to an eco-tastic shampoo to offer relief during the Summer months. If you're not up to making your own herbal flea powder, here's a couple ingredients to look for on the label of store brands (recommended by you in the comments!):

• Aloe: One of the more obvious calming ingredients, aloe can be found in everything from gels to sprays. Pure Aloe Vera can sooth and cool your dog's itchy bites (and yours, too!) plus it won't hurt your pet if he licks it off. Some vets even recommend drops as a meal supplement as it can help to cure skin disorders and soothe stomach irritation internally as well.

See two more when you read more

You may be wondering why I've been going a tad tick crazy on the site during the Dog Days of Summer. Well, there's a reason. Last week when chatting with a pal in NYC, she shared a scary story about her rescued Rottie mix, Jack.
While he's seen here in sleepier times, my friend woke up one morning a couple weeks ago to find him not only resting, but totally unable to get up. Obviously, she freaked out and called a friend with a car to help carry the dog to his doctor. The vet did some tests but initially asked if her pooch had spent anytime in the country. Countryside? Does Brooklyn count? To learn where and when he contracted the disease, and what's happening now read more

It's definitely flea and tick season, and I wanted to share a special tip for all you kitty owners – or those that have cats and dogs in your furry fam! Although some solutions are meant for both, never use one made just for dogs on cats as it can contain an ingredient that's fatal to felines. If your meds include Permethrin, keep them far out of kitty's reach! To learn about this chemical read more

Ummm, yuck! Turns out there's a word for what I'm feeling when I look at this bug – entonophobia, or fear of ticks! And, trust me, your pets should be scared, too. If you see one of these creepy crawlers on your furry friends, I've got tips for tweezing ticks.The common external parasite can transmit fatal illnesses like Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease, and you should do daily checks for the dangerous ticks, especially if you live in woody, grassy, or brushy areas.

Ticks look like this creature – they're tiny black, brown, or reddish eight-legged insect about the size of a pinhead. However, when they attach themselves to your pet, they can swell up several times their original size! See my removal tips when you read more

Hiya, Fuji! I wish I wasn't seeing your adoro bathtime mohawk under such sad circumstances. This cute pup has recently come down with fleas and ticks – learn the Shih-Tzu's story below and let's try to help mn48225 come up with a solution!

Fuji caught ticks two weeks ago and then, over the weekend, he caught fleas. It's been five days now and I had applied Advantix on him, gave him a bath with flea shampoo and then switched to Advantage. Last time this happened, it seemed to work but, this time around, he is still scratching! I even cleaned my whole apartment and dusted it down with flea powder. Do you have any suggestions?

Don't let a bunch of nipping mosquitoes keep you from enjoying your evening BBQ.

Here's a 100% DEET-free bug spray called Herbal Armor made by All Terrain. It was clinically tested at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada to be 100% effective at repelling bugs for 2 hours, 95.8% effective for 3 hours, and 77.1% effective for 4 hours. So it's recommended that you apply it every 2-3 hours to stay fully protected against those buggers.

It's made of 6 essential oils recognized by the EPA as bug repellents including Citronella, Soybean, Peppermint, Cedar, Lemongrass, and Geranium. It's water and sweat resistant, and it works! (I speak from experience.)

Even though it has Citronella Oil in it, the other oils mixed in there give it this lovely lemony scent. It's safe to spray on your skin and on your clothes. If you want to protect your face, just spritz some on your hands and rub them on your face, to avoid getting it in your eyes.

If you don't want the 4 oz spray (for $7.99), they also make a 4 oz lotion (for $7.99).

This stuff is safe for your skin, won't damage your clothes, and protects you from mosquitoes, ticks, gnats, flies, ants, black flies and other pesky insects, so bugs beware!