Tick and mosquito season hits New Jersey

Summertime brings warm weather, trips to the beach and barbecues - but it also means ticks and mosquitoes are ready to feast on residents and their pets. Robert Gordon, a veterinarian at Oakland Animal

News 12 Staff

•

Jun 22, 2009, 8:35 PM

•

Updated 5,602 days ago

Summertime brings warm weather, trips to the beach and barbecues - but it also means ticks and mosquitoes are ready to feast on residents and their pets.

Robert Gordon, a veterinarian at Oakland Animal Hospital, says this should especially be a concern in New Jersey, as he says there is a growing tick population in the Garden State.

"I would say in the last two to three weeks we are seeing three, four or five animals a day coming into the office with ticks," he says.

Gordon recommends thorough daily checks of pets for ticks, a Lyme disease carrier. Gordon says checks shouldn't stop with your cat or dog, though.

"If [residents are] finding ticks on their pets, then they're probably walking in the same area as the dog is, and therefore they should be checking themselves as well."

To keep mosquitoes away, Gordon recommends removing any standing water near homes and keeping a lid on garbage cans. Mosquitoes are carriers of the West Nile virus and can infect pets with heartworm.