How ticks are found on ONE THIRD of family dogs
The number of pets with potentially dangerous ticks has doubled in a year
BRITS are being warned to check their dogs after a major study found the number of pets being feasted on by potentially dangerous ticks has DOUBLED in a year.
Vets taking part in The Big Tick Project studied more than 12,000 dogs over a 16 week period in Spring 2015.
Almost one third of the dogs (31 per cent) were found to be carrying a tick - up from 15 per cent on a study in 2014.
In the study, 89.2 per cent of the dogs with ticks were found to be infested with the species Ixodes ricinus which is the principal carrier of Lyme disease and Anaplasma, which causes the disease anaplasmosis.
The team of scientists also identified a number of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks, which can transmit the potentially fatal disease canine babesiosis.
These were collected from dogs in Wales and South West England.
TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham, who is part of the project, described the findings as "shocking".
He said: "The first thing that is striking about the results is that almost one in three dogs that were taken into vets and randomly tested were carrying ticks, which is shocking.
"Also, these ticks were not just found in isolated parts of the UK, but all over the UK.
"I would say that this is a tremendously significant project. It's the largest of its kind ever conducted in the UK and it has been extensive.
"It was well supported by vets and dog owners too and the data has been rigorously analysed by the University of Bristol.
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"This is good solid hard data which revealed some very shocking and surprising things about the distribution, the population and potential that ticks have to give diseases to our pets and ourselves.
He added: "The advice is very clear, go to your vet and speak to them about the most effective tick control for your pet."
Lyme disease in dogs can lead them to being lethargic, have swollen joints and nodes and can result in fatal kidney disease.
Symptoms for babesiosis, which is more serious, include lethargy, lack of appetite, fever, anemia, pale gums, an enlarged abdomen, weight loss and jaundice.
In the past, dogs who died from babesiosis had previously been abroad - but the disease has now hit animals who haven't left the British Isles.
One of the dogs checked by vets during the study had 200 ticks.
Scientists also mapped the ticks collected to build a picture of the current geographical spread of ticks in the UK - and found the data shows the highest prevalence of tick infestation is in South West England, East Anglia and Scotland.
However, levels are still high throughout of Central and Northern England.
Professor Richard Wall, from the University of Bristol said: "The work that we have carried out shows that ticks are extremely widely dispersed.
"Everywhere across the UK we are likely to get a fairly high abundance of ticks at particular times of the year.
"The records that we have got appear to show that we have had an increase in tick numbers right across the country.
"What we are primarily concerned about is the diseases that ticks carry. In the UK we have relatively low rates of the prevalence of these pathogens at the moment and in contrast in continental Europe they have much higher rates of disease.
He added: "As there seems to be a rise in tick numbers, we need to be concerned and be aware of the potential for increasing problems.
"Pet owners in urban areas need to be as concerned as people walking dogs in more rural areas.
"We did a survey recently where we looked at tick abundance in parks in cities and we found about 30% of parks had ticks.
"Particularly where there is woodland or areas of areas of long grass, there is a risk."