Protect Your Pets And Family From Uptick in Tick Born Disease

Protecting your pets from fleas and ticks will protect your family from disease.

Cumberland County Animal Shelter Director Andrea Gaskins said fleas can be a problem in the home. She said once your pet has brought fleas indoors, your home can remain infested with flea eggs deposited throughout.

Gaskins said a standard oral or topical treatment or a flea collar can prevent both fleas and ticks. Gaskins said protecting out pets prevents more than an irritating bite or allergic reactions.

“More importantly I think are the tick diseases that you see, and protecting your pets as well as yourself from those tick bites is essential,” Gaskins said. “There’s too many diseases that are spread by ticks to people.”

Gaskins said the shelter had seen an increase in tick born diseases such as Ehrlichiosis and Lyme Disease among others. She said these are diseases that can transmit from ticks to humans.

Gaskins said the shelter sees less ticks and fleas in the winter but it only takes one flea to infest a home.

“I would honestly say, the best protection is all year protection,” Gaskins said.

The Cumberland County Animal Shelter participates in a program with the University of Tennessee to track tick numbers and disease. Gaskins said the shelter had been participating for about three years now.

“From what I understand they’re basically tracking tick-born illness and hot spots,” Gaskins said.