SINGAPORE – A spike in tick sightings at The Animal Lodge in Tengah has worried some of its animal shelter tenants, The Straits Times has learnt.

Responding to queries, the National Parks Board (NParks) said the recent warm and wet weather could have contributed to the uptick in such observations. The facility houses more than 40 animal-related establishments, including shelters, pet breeders and boarders.

The Animal Lodge was built in 2017 by the former Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority to house animal-related establishments affected by expiring land leases in Loyang, Seletar and Lim Chu Kang. 

It is now managed by NParks’ Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS).

Two animal shelters told ST that staff and volunteers have noticed an abnormal increase in sightings since the start of July.

Mr Ricky Yeo, the president and founder of Action for Singapore Dogs (ASD), said the recent spread appears to be more persistent than usual, after volunteers spotted several ticks on about four of its 80 dogs during the past two weekends.

Previous incidents were controlled within a few days.

He added that the rise in tick discoveries could signal the start of the first serious infestation to hit his shelter since the non-profit moved to The Animal Lodge in 2022.

He said: “We waited for a bit because a few ticks are no cause for alarm... When my staff reported there were ticks spotted on the doors of a breeder, we knew something was wrong.”

Causes for Animals (CAS) Singapore volunteer Marcus Tan said the shelter never encountered an issue of ticks affecting humans until roughly four weeks ago, when ticks were found crawling on volunteers’ clothes and skin after walks around the facility.

“We started feeling itchy and found more ticks,” he added.

The tenants there are encouraged by NParks to administer tick preventatives regularly, but Mr Tan says the lack of enforcement to ensure such basic care has contributed to “constant problems” at the facility.

The tick situation has worsened with ongoing construction and development work of the facility, said Mr Tan. He cited a dog run that has been under construction for more than five years and rusty metal plates on the roads in the facility, which have created conditions that attract ticks and other pests.

Ticks found on the door of a pet breeder at The Animal Lodge.

PHOTO: RICKY YEO

As a precaution, ASD and CAS said they apply anti-tick medication on their dogs monthly.

Mr Yeo will use stronger treatments should the tick situation worsens. “If we find 20 to 30 of them on our dogs, we will have to make them take a chemical bath, which we try to avoid because these are very toxic.”

Mr Yeo said pregnant ticks are of the greatest concern, as they crawl into crevices and lay hundreds of eggs.

The last major infestation to affect the ASD shelter took place when it was in Lim Chu Kang. That cost the shelter a few thousand dollars to root out the pests, Mr Yeo recalled.

AVS group director for community animal management Anna Wong said the most commonly found species at The Animal Lodge are from a group known as the brown dog ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus).

These ticks prefer to bite dogs and can cause fever that is potentially fatal for the canines.

AVS began conducting annual surveys to monitor tick presence in the facility since it took over management in 2019.

Dr Wong added that the authorities plan to further enhance routine cleaning targeted at ticks across the premises.

Since March, weekly tick treatments have been expanded to common areas of every block, up from a rotational basis across different clusters of blocks.

This approach has been extended since April to dog runs, where these sessions occur fortnightly.

Dr Wong said about 40 environmental tick treatments covering both blocks and dog runs have been carried out since March.

She added: “While AVS manages the environmental treatment at common areas, tenants play an important role and are responsible for tick prevention within their units.

“We have engaged tenants to remind them to step up on tick treatment within their units and provide regular preventative tick medication for their animals. These measures are key as dogs are the main hosts of ticks.”

Dr Ernest Teo, a researcher at Hokkaido University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine who studies the effect of climate change on ticks, said the facility’s ticks are likely the tropical brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus linnaei), known to transmit disease-causing micro-organisms to dogs and humans in other parts of the world.

The species has been found to thrive in domestic environments like washing machines in garages, and in the bedding of dogs and cats.

Dr Teo added that the life cycle of the tick is completed faster as temperatures rise, leading to more generations being born within a year.

An increase in humidity also prevents eggs from drying out, allowing more to hatch successfully.

“Because these environments have many dogs, they become a bed and breakfast for these ticks, and thus these ticks proliferate,” Dr Teo said.

Studies have reported an increasing pesticide resistance in these ticks and that as temperatures climb, they tend to bite humans more frequently, increasing the risk of tick-related illnesses.

Although Singapore does not require doctors to report tick bites or tick-borne diseases, a recent study has learnt that 11 species of ticks found to have bitten humans on the island are capable of carrying one or more harmful microbes.

Up to $2.4 million

has been set aside by the authorities to fund research to understand ticks and tick-borne diseases that infect animals and humans here. Grant calls for the research were launched in January .

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