Ticks are the WWE wrestlers of the external parasite world. Move over mere insects like mosquitoes and fleas. Arachnid family ticks can transform themselves from period-size weaklings to ballooned vampires the size of Jelly Bellies after victimizing an unsuspecting dog that's out for a walk in the woods.

Like weeding a garden, some people think of tick control as a seasonal chore, beginning in spring and ending after the first fatal frost in the fall. Tick experts, such as Michael W. Dryden, professor of veterinary parasitology at Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine, say timing tick control is almost impossible.

"Tick-exposed dogs and cats would benefit from being placed on preventive tick control products year-round," Dryden says.

Ticks produce disease by consumption of blood, and transmission of infectious agents such as Lyme disease, Ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted-Fever. Treatments to eliminate tick-borne infections are frequently too late to prevent serious disease or death.

"What is often forgotten," explains Dryden, "is that if you see a tick or two on a dog that is on a veterinary prescribed acaricide (tick killer) it is likely that many more were repelled or killed." Therefore, seeing one or more ticks doesn't mean product failure. It might just mean tick residence, or a product approaching its renewal date with less residual activity combined with a pet moving through heavily tick-infested environments.

As far as which products to use, Dryden recommends asking your veterinarian which product is working well on ticks in your area, adding that both Frontline Plus by Merial and K9 Advantix from Bayer Animal Health have proven very effective. K9 Advantix does show a slight edge in tick repellency the first two weeks after application. For more information, go to www.oznet.ksu.edu/library/entml2/samplers/MF2653.asp.

Whereas seeing a flea or two on a pet may not alarm a pet owner, seeing a single engorged tick will have many bordering on hysteria. Blood-filled ticks even creep vets out! As with many things in life, prevention is key.