Understanding the interaction between wildlife, parasites, and domestic pets is crucial for promoting coexistence and safeguarding your pet’s health. The natural habitats of animals such as foxes, squirrels, and raccoons often overlap with human residential areas, creating scenarios where diseases like mange can transfer between wildlife and our pets. While mange is devastating for the affected animals, it also serves as a reminder of the delicate balance between human activity and the natural world.
Although pest management specialists do not treat animals for parasites, it is of great value to the public to know that parasites do exist in the wildlife population that can affect domestic pets.
One such parasite is mange. It is very common to find mange skin infections in foxes, squirrels and raccoons. Mange is a contagious skin infection caused by mites that can debilitate wildlife and domestic pets. A mange infection is exacerbated when female mites burrow into the skin of the victim to lay eggs that develop into larvae that then develop into adult mites, where the process starts all over again. These mites that infest wildlife can cause itching, hair loss and sores on the skin of the animal. Mange is spread to other animals by physical contact or by contamination of bedding or shared resting areas.
Evidence of mange in wildlife may be seen in lethargic animals that get too close to humans. Their perceived weakness may be caused by the animal not being able to consume enough calories to fight the infection and provide nourishment for the animal to function as it should.
If this infection is spread to domestic pets, treatment is available, however, treatment to wildlife is not always a viable option.
Precautions can be taken to protect your pets.
- Do not feed wildlife. The more wildlife that is tempted to visit your home the more likely that they will adopt resting or bedding areas outside your home that may be shared with your pets making transmission of the mite easier.
- Another precaution is to not feed your pets outside because if there is food left over, wild animals will be drawn to an easy food supply.
In the case that an animal affected by the mange mite does take up residence around your home, Wildlife Warriors may be able to trap the animal and remove it from your property or you may want to contact County Animal Control and see if they would be willing to remove the animal before a potential infection is contracted by your pet.