How to talk with clients about year-round flea and tick protection as temperatures drop

For some clients, falling temperatures signal the end of flea and tick season. For veterinary teams, they are a timely opening to explain why prevention should continue. Spring 2026 brought the highest rate of human emergency department (ED) visits for tick bites for that time of year since 2017, according to the CDC,^1,2 and the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) notes that adult blacklegged ticks are most active and likely to feed on dogs and cats in the cooler months.³

Why this fall is a timely moment for the year-round conversation

During the fourth week of April 2026, 114 of every 100,000 human ED visits in the US were for tick bites, according to the CDC’s Tick Bite Data Tracker, with the greatest spike in the Northeast, followed by the Midwest.¹ The tracker draws on human ED data, so it reflects tick bites in people, not pets.² Still, CAPC notes that areas of elevated Lyme disease risk for dogs closely parallel regions where people are most likely to get Lyme disease.⁴

That spring surge did not end the risk. CAPC lists peak adult blacklegged tick activity as fall through winter and warns that limited or seasonal use of tick control can permit disease transmission, particularly when products are discontinued in the cooler months just as adults become most active.³

CAPC’s 2026 forecast projects continued expansion of Lyme disease risk, with Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, and parts of northern Tennessee and North Carolina among the areas projected to see some of the greatest expansions. It also notes that ehrlichiosis transmission can occur year-round in many areas.⁴

As CAPC board member Craig Prior, BVSc, CVJ, put it: “Ticks don’t feed 365 days a year, but they do feed 12 months a year. ‘Low risk’ does not mean ‘no risk.’”⁵

Fleas persist through the cold months, too. According to CAPC, cat fleas survive cold weather as adults on dogs, cats, or wild mammals, or as preemerged adults in protected environments, and larvae develop indoors in spots such as carpets and along baseboards.⁶ “Adult fleas have survived for days at refrigerator temperature,”⁷ said Christopher Lee, DVM, MPH, DACVPM, DACVM (Parasitology), host of dvm360’s Vet Watch podcast. “A heated home can provide winter refuge for fleas in any state—even Alaska.”^6,8

Where client understanding of year-round risk falls short

A 2025 global survey of 4,072 pet owners and 582 veterinarians in 15 countries, commissioned by flea and tick product manufacturer Merck Animal Health, found that only 10% of owners defined flea and tick season as year-round, and 44% placed it in the summer months. Meanwhile, 74% of veterinarians worried owners were not giving prevention consistently. In the US, two-thirds of veterinarians surveyed said most owners do not follow year-round treatment.⁹

Part of the gap may come down to explanation. Kate Boatright, VMD, writing in AAHA’s Trends magazine, described clients who accepted a recommendation and then told her no one had ever explained the reason behind year-round heartworm prevention.¹⁰

When to raise year-round prevention: before, during, and between visits

Boatright recommends starting before the client arrives. A client service representative (CSR) can introduce preventive care recommendations during the scheduling call and repeat them at check-in, and the technician taking the history can explain the reasoning. That way, the client hears the recommendations at least 3 times before the veterinarian enters the room. Clients are more likely to follow recommendations made consistently by all team members, she notes.¹⁰

The refill cycle offers another opening. Wendy S. Myers, CVJ, founder of Communication Solutions for Veterinarians, recommends reviewing purchase history before wellness visits to spot gaps, sending automated dosing reminders, and running a daily report so CSRs can call clients whose preventives are empty or expired.¹¹ As the weather cools, those lapsed-refill lists can show which clients to reach first. Lee offered a message that could work in a fall reminder: “46.4°F. Jacket weather for you. Survivable weather for adult fleas. Keep your pet’s flea protection going—all 12 months.”⁷

Annual testing is a third moment. CAPC advises pairing year-round prevention with routine testing,⁴ and Myers notes that an annual heartworm/tick test offers a chance to assess the patient’s health and reinforce why testing and preventives matter.¹¹

How to frame the year-round recommendation

Lead with local risk. CAPC’s Parasite Prevalence Maps show where dogs are testing positive for diseases such as Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis, both near home and in places clients travel with their pets. The maps draw on more than 10 million diagnostic test results per vector-borne disease reported to CAPC each year. County-level 30-day forecasts are also available at petdiseasealerts.org.⁴

Ask open-ended questions. Rather than asking whether a client gives a preventive, Myers suggests asking which product the pet receives and when the last dose was given. When records show a gap, she recommends approaching it with empathy rather than calling the client out.¹¹

Connect prevention to the household. CAPC notes that pets not on tick control may bring ticks into the home, where they can move to people and other pets.³ Established flea infestations can take several months to bring under control, and every pet in the home must be treated.⁶ Or, as Lee put it: “Fleas have central heating, too. Yours.”⁸

The takeaway for veterinary teams this fall

“Test annually, recommend consistent year-round prevention, and use local surveillance data to guide your parasite control programs,” said Kathryn E. Reif, MSPH, PhD, lead author of the 2026 CAPC forecast and an associate professor of parasitology at Auburn University.⁵

References

1. US seeing spike in emergency visits for tick bites, CDC says. Healio. April 28, 2026. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20260519/us-seeing-spike-in-emergency-visits-for-tick-bites-cdc-says

2. Tick bite data tracker. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated May 15, 2024. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/data-research/facts-stats/tick-bite-data-tracker.html

3. Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus. Companion Animal Parasite Council. Updated August 3, 2026. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://capcvet.org/guidelines/ixodes-scapularis-and-ixodes-pacificus/

4. 2026 annual pet parasite forecasts. Companion Animal Parasite Council. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://capcvet.org/articles/2026-annual-pet-parasite-forecasts/

5. CAPC 2026 pet parasite forecast: expanding vectors, emerging hotspots and a new era of year-round risk. News release. Companion Animal Parasite Council. March 23, 2026. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://petsplusmag.com/capc-2026-pet-parasite-forecast-expanding-vectors-emerging-hotspots-and-a-new-era-of-year-round-risk/

6. Fleas. Companion Animal Parasite Council. Updated September 19, 2017. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://capcvet.org/guidelines/fleas/

7. Silverman J, Rust MK. Some abiotic factors affecting the survival of the cat flea, Ctenocephalides felis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). Environ Entomol. 1983;12(2):490-495. doi:10.1093/ee/12.2.490

8. Is winter flea prevention for pets necessary? Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. November 16, 2023. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://vet.tufts.edu/news-events/news/winter-flea-prevention-pets-necessary

9. Vets and pet-owners see gaps in flea and tick prevention, highlighting need for year-round care, new MSD Animal Health global survey finds. News release. MSD Animal Health. August 19, 2025. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://msd-animal-health.com/news-releases/flea-and-tick-survey/

10. Boatright K. Caring conversations. AAHA Trends Magazine. April 1, 2023. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://www.aaha.org/trends-magazine/april-2023/f2-caring-conversations/

11. Myers WS. How do I say…?: When clients lie about preventive dosing. dvm360. April 1, 2025. Accessed October 13, 2026. https://www.dvm360.com/view/how-do-i-say-when-clients-lie-about-preventive-dosing