Researchers reveal the two danger zones where deadly ‘paralysis ticks’ love to hide on your dogs and cats
Dogs and cats face a severe threat from ticks that many pet owners may overlook until a life-threatening situation, like tick paralysis, occurs. A major study by the University of Queensland, Australia, has discovered groundbreaking evidence that could ease veterinary treatment and save countless pets. Professor Stephen Barker from the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, who contributed to the largest study of tick preference sites, explained the potential of their findings through an extensive survey on several dogs and cats.
“We studied more than 10,000 tick envenomation cases at veterinary hospitals in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, and Sydney’s northern beaches,” Barker said in a statement to the UQ. In the study published in the Australian Veterinary Journal on 19 October 2025, researchers found that the head and neck of a pet suffering from paralysis tick toxin could help eliminate the parasites through targeted treatment. They confirmed that 73% of dog patients and 63% of cats with the paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus, had the parasite on either their necks or ears. “If pet owners and vet clinics focus on where ticks most often occur, crucial treatment can be started sooner,” the professor noted.
However, the nostrils and genitalia of the pets were among the other sites infested by ticks, but the ratio was way lower than the neck, head and ears. “Statistically speaking, hunting for them first on the head and neck is the best strategy,” he said. The researchers also tried to explain why necks and ears are the most affected sites, but could not determine an answer. It is speculated that since adult female ticks do not attach at the first point of contact, which is usually the legs, torso, or the animal’s tail, the parasites tend to aim for the head and neck.
Pet owners must look out for symptoms like wobbly back legs, or voice and behavior changes, caused by the tick toxins. Veterinarians should check pets for the “prompt removal of the tick.” In a 2023 study led by Professor Barker, he and his team analyzed nearly 30,000 cases of veterinary records across two decades in four regions along Australia’s east coast to study the most vulnerable seasons for tick attacks on pets. “We found that there were tick cases in pets at veterinary hospitals all year in all of the regions we studied, even in the coldest winter months,” he revealed in a previous statement.
While summer is the most dreaded season by pet owners, Barker clarified that the “danger period” for dogs and cats is spring, as it provides the right environment for the female ticks to lay eggs that hatch in the summer and look for new hosts. “The number of cases actually drops off through the hottest summer months of January and February in all regions,” the professor said. He advised pet owners to remain vigilant and check their pets’ head and neck regions after every outing in a tick-prone area. Minor symptoms should not be ignored and should be checked by a vet, as delays can pose a serious threat to the animal’s life. According to the CDC, pets cannot be vaccinated against tick-borne diseases except Lyme disease.