Tick season in Switzerland
Active from spring to autumn: how to remove ticks correctly and protect your dog.
In Switzerland, ticks are active roughly from February/March into November – in mild winters even all year round. They lurk in tall grass, at the edges of woods and paths and in undergrowth, by now up to altitudes of around 1,500 metres. In dogs they can transmit, among other things, Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis.
The most important measure costs nothing: check your dog thoroughly after every walk – especially the head, ears, neck, armpits, belly and the spaces between the toes. The faster a tick is removed, the smaller the risk of disease transmission.
To remove it, grip the tick with tick tweezers or a tick card as close to the skin as possible and pull it out slowly and straight – don't twist, don't squeeze and don't use home remedies such as oil or alcohol. Afterwards disinfect the spot and keep an eye on it over the following days. A small redness right after the bite is normal; if it grows larger or persists, it belongs in the practice.