Mites are accompanied by many serious illnesses that have long-term and debilitating effects. The best way to fight back is to keep you and your pet safe, preventing mites all year round.
It is important to understand how mites breed and when they are most active. Since mites can kill both dogs and cats, ideally the mites’ life cycle should be stopped before they can communicate potentially fatal diseases.
Flea and mites prevention products aim to fight back or kill mites before the infection of the disease. So they are very important.
The life cycle of mites
The life cycle of a mites consists of four stages.
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egg
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Larva
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nymph
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Adult
The larvae and nymphs have six legs, while the adult mites have eight legs. Mites are vampires and require a host (and their blood) to survive, molt and reproduce. For most mites, multiple hosts are required to complete the lifecycle. For others, such as brown dog ticks, they can spend the entire life cycle on one host (your dog).
Female mites usually place their eggs in thousands, under leaves or other types of debris. The larvae are hatched and can be hosts, usually small birds or rodents, such as mice, where they can pick up fatal diseases and become carriers.
Shortly after feeding, the larvae fall from the host and remain dormant until a year, molting, and become nymphs. They then eat other hosts. There, they communicate illnesses and illnesses, take them down, and become dormant again for several months before they can blend into adults.
Adult mites are then allowed by their host (usually large animals or humans) to raise, feed and transmit the disease. Male mites feed and remain in their host until they fall out and die. Female mites usually fall to lay eggs immediately after mating. On average, this time frame takes about two years to complete.
When eaten, the mites reflux digestive enzymes to prevent the host’s blood from clotting and can continue feeding. During the reflux process, fleas transmit the disease to the host. This process often takes more than 48 hours, but the timing varies and only takes a few hours for some mites.
If mites are discovered and removed early, the chances of transmission of the disease are rare. This is why drugs are important to keep your pets safe all year round, as they are designed to kill ticks or remove hosts before the disease is transmitted.
6 Most common mites in the US
American dog tick
Photo credit: istock/dbstudio
dermacentor variabilis It is known to transmit tullaemia and rocky mountain spotted fever (RMSF), and is also one of the main mites that cause mites paralysis. This ticker can be found all over the United States, but is not in the Southwest state, not in the Rocky Mountains that were first identified.
Lone Star Tick
Photo credit: ISTOCK/JOESBOY
Amblyomma Americanum It is known to transmit ehrlichiosis, interhepaticemia, cytoplasmia, Heartland viral disease, rickettsiasis, and STARI (South tick-associated rash disease). This tick is common in southern states, but is found in northern states. This tick is most active from early spring to late autumn.
Black Leg (deer) tick
Photo Credit: Istock/Jason Ondreicka
ixodes scapularis It is known to transmit Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and pausanvirus disease. This tick is most frequently found in the eastern US, but reaches south and west, just like Texas and South Dakota.
Brown dog tick
Photo Credit: istock/robertax
rhipicephalus sanguineus It is known to infect babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spot Fever (RMSF), Ehrlichiosis, hepatic disease in dogs, and anaplasmosis. This tick is usually found in southern states, but there is no limit to its geographical expansion. A unique feature about this tick is that it can also be found in homes and kennels.
Winter tick
Photo Credit: University of Nebraska
Albipictus It is more common in mousse, deer and elk than in our companion animals. It is not known to carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans and pets. As its name suggests, it is most active in autumn and winter, and is seen from coast to coast throughout the United States.
Gulf Coast Tick
Photo credit: National Environmental Health Association
amblyomma maculatum It is known to transmit ricketziasis and liver blue disease in dogs. As its name suggests, the tick is most frequently found along the Gulf Coast, but far north as Ohio. It is most active from late summer to early autumn.
How to maintain mites from pets
Mites pose a great threat to you and your pet. It is important that they provide the best possible protection, and the best way to protect them is through prevention. Working with your veterinarian to find the right flea and tick medication is important for your pet’s health.
Most mites prevention products in tickable tablets like Bravecto and Nexgard, Celestor local Frontline Plus It takes several hours for them to start repulsing and killing the mites. So when planning outdoor activities with your pets, make sure they are much more pre-protected.
