Most households here stop thinking about ticks in September, and that is the gap. In coastal British Columbia the adult ticks that matter are active in the cool, damp months, so October and November are a genuine second season rather than a quiet one. Prevention that ends with summer leaves the busiest stretch uncovered.
Why the autumn surge happens
Ticks in this part of the province do not follow the summer pattern people expect. The nymphs are a spring and early summer problem. The adults become active once the weather cools and stay active through mild winter days, questing on any day mild enough to bring them out, which here is a good part of the winter.
Mission has plenty of the ground where that matters: forest edges, trail networks, long grass along the Fraser, and gardens that back onto green space. Ticks wait on vegetation at knee height for something warm to brush past, and a dog trotting through wet undergrowth is exactly what they are waiting for.
The rain helps them. Ticks dry out easily, so damp leaf litter and a mild, wet autumn suit them in a way that August never does.
Where they attach, and how to actually check
A proper check takes two minutes and beats any amount of worrying. Do it after every walk in long grass or woodland, and again the next day, because a tick that has just attached is very small.
Work with your fingertips rather than your eyes, feeling for a small bump the size of a grain of rice that was not there yesterday:
- Inside and around the ears, and the folds behind them
- Under the collar and around the neck
- The armpits and the groin
- Between the toes and around the pads
- Around the eyes and the muzzle
- Under the tail and along the belly
Cats who hunt in long grass need checking too, particularly around the head and neck. They groom most of them off, which is why owners assume cats do not get ticks, but the ones they cannot reach stay put.
Removing one properly
Speed matters more than technique. The longer a tick stays attached, the more opportunity there is for anything it carries to be passed on, so removing it today beats removing it perfectly tomorrow.
- Use fine-tipped tweezers, or a tick removal hook if you have one, rather than your fingers.
- Grip as close to the skin as you can, at the head end rather than the body.
- With tweezers, pull straight out with steady pressure and do not twist, jerk or squeeze the body. With a hook, slide it in under the tick and turn it gently, which is how that tool is built to work.
- Clean the area with plain water afterward and wash your hands.
- Keep the tick in a sealed bag or a pot. It is genuinely useful to us if your pet becomes unwell later.
- Note the date and where on the body it was.
Do not use a lit match, petroleum jelly, nail polish or alcohol to make it let go. Those methods are slower, they make the tick more likely to regurgitate into the wound, and they are how a simple job becomes a complicated one.
A small red bump where a tick was attached is normal for a few days. Bring your pet in if the site becomes swollen, hot or oozing, if part of the mouthparts is left behind and the skin reacts, or if you cannot get the tick out.
What to watch for afterward
Most tick bites here cause nothing at all. What is worth knowing is the pattern that means we should look properly: lameness that shifts from one leg to another, a dog who is stiff or sore for no clear reason, fever, swollen glands, unusual tiredness, or a dog who is simply off their food and flat.
Those signs can appear weeks or even months after the bite, which is why keeping a note of the date is so useful. Bring that note with you, along with the tick if you kept it, and mention where you had been walking. Blood testing through our medical services is straightforward once we know what we are looking for.
Prevention through the wet months
- Keep prevention going year-round here. This is the single most useful change for a Mission dog, because the local tick season effectively does not close. Ask us what suits your pet, since the right product depends on species, weight, lifestyle and whether there are cats in the house.
- Stay on the path. Ticks sit on vegetation at the edges, so the middle of a wide trail is meaningfully safer than the long grass beside it.
- Check after every walk, and make it part of the towel-off routine at the door.
- Keep the garden less hospitable. Mow the edges, clear leaf litter and brush piles, and keep a gap between long grass and the area the dog uses.
- Do not use a dog product on a cat. Some are seriously dangerous to cats, and this is a common and avoidable accident.
- Check yourself too. The same walk puts them on you.
Ticks are also one of the reasons skin gets itchy and irritated in autumn, though they are far from the only one. Our guide to itchy skin and allergies in Mission pets works through the wider picture.
If your pet is due for a check, parasite cover is part of what we go through at a routine visit. Our pet care services page sets out what that appointment covers.
Frequently asked questions
Is it true ticks are worse in autumn than summer here?
For the adult ticks that concern us most in coastal BC, autumn through early spring is their active period. Summer is the quieter half of the year for them. That is the opposite of what most people assume, and it is why prevention that stops in September leaves a gap.
My dog is on prevention. Do I still need to check?
Yes. Most products work after the tick attaches, so finding one on a protected dog is expected rather than a sign of failure. Checking still matters, because it shortens attachment time and tells you what your dog is being exposed to.
How long does a tick have to be attached to be a problem?
Longer attachment means more risk, and that is the whole argument for checking daily rather than weekly. Do not try to work out how long yours was on. Remove it, note the date, and watch for the signs above.
I pulled a tick off and left the head in. What now?
Do not dig at it. Leftover mouthparts usually work their way out like a splinter. Keep the area clean, watch it for a few days, and come in if it becomes swollen, painful or infected.
Do indoor cats need tick prevention?
A strictly indoor cat is low risk, though ticks do arrive on dogs and on trouser legs. A cat who goes outside in Mission, especially one who hunts in long grass, should be on something suitable. Ask us rather than buying over the counter, because several dog products are dangerous to cats.
Is there a vaccine?
There is a vaccine relevant to one tick-borne infection in dogs, and whether it makes sense depends on your dog’s exposure and where you travel, which our pet travel services team can factor in. It does not replace prevention or checking. Raise it at your next visit and we will work through it with you.
Speak to the team at Mission Veterinary Hospital
If you have found a tick you cannot remove, or your dog has been stiff or off colour since a walk, phone us.
Published by the team at Mission Veterinary Hospital.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for an in-person veterinary examination or advice about your individual pet. If you have an urgent concern about your pet, contact Mission Veterinary Hospital or your nearest emergency veterinary hospital right away.
Mission Veterinary Hospital
31945 Lougheed Hwy, Mission, BC V2V 0K8
Phone: (604) 826-8456
Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM; Saturday and Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM