Matt Whittaker, manager of Pets At Home Swindon, writes about treating your cat or dog against ticks

With the arrival of autumn, tick season has begun and here at Pets at Home we’re urging pet owners to take action.

Ticks – the small arachnids which feed on the blood of animals – are found throughout the UK and are common in rural areas where wildlife, long grasses and hardwood trees provide an ideal habitat for ticks to thrive.

Tick season peaks during the autumn months, when damp conditions create the perfect environment for tick numbers to flourish, meaning that our four-legged friends are more prone to picking up these nasty unwanted visitors.

Ticks can carry diseases such as Lyme disease which can be contracted by people as well as pets.

The one most likely to bite in Britain is the sheep tick, Ixodes ricinus. Despite its name, the sheep tick will feed from a wide variety of mammals and birds.

Bites from other ticks are possible, including from the hedgehog tick, the fox tick or badger tick.

They are most commonly found in long grass and rural areas where pets like to roam, so it’s important for owners to treat dogs and cats regularly.

Ticks aren’t always easy to spot on your pet; they are typically dark brown in colour and often attach themselves without notice to areas of the body where the skin is thinner such as behind the ear or groin.

However, a feeding tick will appear engorged and prove easier to spot, so once identified it can easily be removed with a special tick remover, available in store.

It’s important to treat your pet preventively – every four weeks for cats and every six weeks for dogs is ideal.

To tackle ticks, pop in to our store to find out more from our colleagues.