Ticks bite dogs, cats, livestock, turtles, snakes, squirrels and other animals, and although more common in rural areas, they can be found anywhere animals are. Nothing can be done to prevent ticks from attaching to animals or people. The only solution is to treat the animals when they do pick up ticks. Except on rare occasions in South Mississippi, ticks are not a problem on livestock because their numbers are so few. They are a problem on pets, but several treatments are available to solve the problem.
Veterinarians can prescribe medication that is given monthly to cats and dogs as a pill or drops.
These work by moving into the bloodstream where they kill ticks as they feed. Dogs can be treated with an insecticide on their coat as either a spray, dip or powder. This treatment kills the ticks on the animal at that time, but its potency only last about three to five days. As the dog continued to collect ticks from the environment which were then killed with the insecticide, it would eventually lower the tick population significantly. The third option is the simplest, and requires pesticide drops be placed between the dog's shoulder blades.