i know alot of you begrudge giving money to the vets but get a tick remover off them,(small green plastic thing) the easyest, quickest, and certainly the best way of removing the little b.....ds . taken hundreds off me and the dogs and never popped one or left heads in yet, touch wood...... also i used to agree that they were not present/active during the winter months, untill this year, i was finding ticks on the spaniels right through the shooting season,so bang goes that theory, find a few on the terriers and hardly any on the lurchers