I haven’t heard much about them yet this year. Usually I hear people complaining, because no one likes to find them. Although finding them is much better than not finding them until they take a big bite.
There was some talk that the one cold snap we had back in February might do some damage to the tick population. It was only a couple days, so I can’t see that it would have a big effect, but I haven’t seen any yet this year.
Usually by this time of year I have managed to find one or two on the dog, but I started early with the topical medication I use of her. Actually, I never stopped. Since the winter was fairly open and we didn’t have a lot of cold weather, I thought maybe they were hanging around over the winter. So I kept giving the dog her drops. It might seem a bit expensive, but it works out better than giving her antibiotics. And I don’t have to fight her to get her to take it.
I thought about getting the dog a vaccine, which is something dogs can get but people can’t. But the topical stuff also works on other nasty little critters, so I go with that. Too bad humans can’t put a couple drops of something on the back of ours necks and be good for a month.
This time of year, since the bugs aren’t around to encourage me, I also don’t use bug spray on my legs. So while the dog has some protection, I just make sure I spend a little time in front of the mirror, checking to see if I’ve managed to pick up any hitchhikers during the day.
So far this year, I haven’t seen any. And I haven’t heard too many people talking about how many there are around like I have in past years. Maybe it’s an off year. But they’re probably still waiting out there.