Tick Season on Long Island: What We Check at Bath Time
Lillian Ruff Pet Spa
If your dog walks anywhere around East Northport, Northport or Commack, you will find a tick eventually. Most owners find the first one by accident, with a thumb running over a small lump behind an ear. We find them the same way, except our hands are in the coat for an hour and the dog is wet, which changes the odds considerably.
Every bath and every full groom means hands on skin, nose to tail, on a coat that is wet and lying flat. That is when ticks turn up. If we find one, we stop, and you hear about it at pickup with the spot on the body and the date. Everything past that — removal questions, identification, testing, prevention products — belongs with your vet.
What the Suffolk County numbers actually say
Suffolk County reported 3,152 Lyme disease cases in 2024, the highest count of any county in New York State. That gets repeated around here as "Suffolk has the worst ticks in New York," and the surveillance data does not support that part.
New York State's Department of Health measures deer tick density per 1,000 square meters. In 2025 Suffolk's nymphal density was 61.04, eighth among the counties measured. Orange County came in at 301.5, roughly five times ours, with six more counties ahead of us as well. NYSDOH scored the Long Island region 2.1 for nymph risk, rated High, behind the Hudson Valley at 2.5, and noted that between 2020 and 2024 the Capital District tended to have the highest Lyme incidence rate. A lot of people and a lot of dogs is what drives our raw case count.
The figure that changes how carefully we look is the infection rate, and it climbs as the year goes on. NYSDOH splits its own deer tick surveillance into two fixed windows.
| Stage | NYSDOH surveillance window | Suffolk 2025 infection rate |
|---|---|---|
| Nymphs | May to September | 26.6% |
| Adults | October to December | 52.8% |
Nymphs are the immature stage and they are far smaller than adults, which is the whole problem with them. On a black Labrador or a cream doodle, a nymph is not something you spot from across the room. You find it with your fingertips.
Where ticks hide, and why bath time finds them
Ticks look for skin that is thin, warm and hard for a dog to reach. That gives you a short list of places worth checking, and a longer list of places nobody checks.
Where we look every time
- Inside and behind both ear flaps
- Under the collar and along the throat
- Armpits and the inside of the back legs
- Belly and groin
- Between the toes and around the pads
- The base of the tail and around the rear
- Eyelids, lips and the chin
Why bath time finds them
- A wet coat lies flat, so skin is visible instead of buried
- Shampooing puts our hands over every inch of the dog, twice
- The high-velocity dryer parts the coat down to the skin
- A dog who flinches at one spot tells us where to look
- Brushing out a dense undercoat lifts anything sitting in it
This is also the honest argument against letting a coat go too long between grooms. A tightly matted coat cannot be checked properly — not by us and not by you. The skin underneath is sealed off, and the first time anyone sees it is when the mats come off.
What happens if we find one
We stop, and you hear about it at pickup — plainly, with the spot on the body and the date, because those are the two things your vet will ask you for. Then we keep going over the rest of the dog, since where there is one there is often another.
We do not identify tick species, we do not tell you whether your dog is at risk, and we do not recommend or apply preventive products, medicated dips or "tick shampoos." That is veterinary territory and we stay out of it. If the skin looks angry, if any part of the tick is left behind, or if your dog seems off in the days after, call your vet.
Prevention belongs in that same conversation. Tell your vet where your dog actually goes — woods, tall grass, a friend's yard in Fort Salonga — because that is the part they cannot guess.
Check when you get home
Hands, not eyes. Ears, collar line, armpits, groin, between the toes. It takes two minutes and it is the single most useful habit here.
Write down the spot and the day
A note on your phone is enough. Both details get fuzzy fast, and both matter later.
Call your vet
Removal, identification, testing and what to watch for are all theirs to answer. Ours is telling you it is there.
The Town of Huntington's off-leash dog run is at the Animal Shelter on Deposit Road, right here in 11731 — free town permit, licensed dog, current rabies. An open run means grass and edges, so it is worth a check on the way home. The same goes for the on-leash walking the town names — Jerome Ambro Memorial Wetlands Preserve in Northport, the Dix Hills Park Woodland Trail, Frazer Drive Park in Greenlawn. Wetland edges and woodland trails are the ground ticks wait on.
The coat check that comes with every groom
Every bath and brush and every full groom at 16 Laurel Rd puts someone's hands on your dog's skin from nose to tail. Ticks surface during that. So do fleas, ear buildup, hot spots, lumps and sore feet. We tell you what we found and where, and if it looks like something a vet should see, we say so and leave it there.
A groom is not a tick treatment. It is an hour when someone is finally looking.
And to be clear about when you do not need us: if you found one tick, and your dog's coat is short or recently groomed and easy to see through, there is no reason to book anything. Call your vet, keep an eye on the spot, and get on with your day. Book when the coat is dense or matted enough that you genuinely cannot see the skin, or when it is simply time — that is when a groom does something a check at home cannot.
Our pricing is published by weight, from the smallest dogs to the largest: bath and brush runs $35 to $120, and a full groom with haircut runs $70 to $155. You can see the bands and pick a time yourself on the booking page. We are in East Northport Tuesday through Saturday, 9 to 5.
Questions people actually ask
What happens if you find a tick during the groom?
We stop, and we tell you at pickup where it was on the body and what day it was. Anything beyond that — removal questions, what kind it was, whether it matters — goes to your vet, and those two details are what they will want first.
Will a bath kill or wash off ticks?
Treat the answer as no. Washing and drying makes ticks much easier to find, which is the real benefit, but a bath is not a treatment and we would not want you relying on it as one. Ask your vet what actually belongs on your dog.
Can you tell me what kind of tick it was?
No. We can tell you what we saw and exactly where it was. Identifying the species and judging any risk from it is your vet's job.
My dog is matted. Can you still check the skin?
Not reliably until the mats are gone. On a heavily matted coat the honest answer is often a short cut, because that is the only way to reach the skin without hurting the dog. We will talk it through with you before we start.
When is tick season around here?
New York State runs its deer tick surveillance in two windows — nymphs from May through September, adults from October through December. That covers most of the year, so a check after walks is a year-round habit rather than a summer one.
Should I still check my dog myself?
Yes, after every walk in grass or woods. We see your dog for an hour every few weeks. You see them every day, and that is where most ticks get caught early.
Book a groom and we will check the skin while we are in there.
Pick your time online, see the price band for your dog's weight, and we will tell you plainly what we find.
See pricing & book ›16 Laurel Rd, East Northport, NY 11731 · Tue–Sat 9–5
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