Global Warming Multiplies Harmful Fleas and Ticks

by Sonia Zjawinski (Subscribe to Sonia Zjawinski's posts): Jun 25th 2009 @ 12:00PM Filed Under: Pet Health

Photo: jurek d./Flickr

Ok, so there's a long list of doomsday situations brewing due to global warming, but did you know your pets are at a greater risk of catching an infectious disease due to milder temperatures? As the mercury rises, more and more infectious diseases are spreading via ticks, fleas, and mosquitoes.

With winters becoming more mild, pest populations are increasing, turning into a major nuisance, to say the least. New Scientist reports that, "the European dog tick is transmitting a malaria-like disease, canine babesiosis, into countries where it was once rare including Belgium, Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. Meanwhile, lxodes ticks are living at greater densities across Europe, increasing their risk of passing tick-borne encephalitis to horses and dogs."

Heartworm, cat flea typhus, and canine leishmaniasis are of concern as well, and not just in Europe. Tick, flea, and mosquito numbers are ballooning everywhere.

What can you do to protect your pets and yourself?

Check yourself and your furry friend for ticks anytime you're out in tick prone areas.
Use flea killing meds such as Advantage or Revolution to keep biters at bay.
Keep your pup up-to-date on heartworm meds.

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Tags: climate change, ClimateChange, disease, flea, fleas, global warming, GlobalWarming, heartworm, mosquito, mosquitoes, pet health questions, PetHealthQuestions, ticks