Those of us living in coastal New South Wales, Queensland and parts of Victoria will be familiar with the paralysis tick. Dogs and cats are commonly affected and immediate veterinary attention is essential if your pet is to survive. Keep grass short, and possums and bandicoots out of your yard. No preventative is 100 per cent, and nothing beats a daily search, so look for a big pimple.

Bees and wasps tend to bite pups around the face, producing large swellings. Most will go down on their own, but if your pet shows any breathing problems, a visit to the vet is a must.

Venomous snakes become active as the weather warms up. Browns, copperheads and tigers are the worst, producing symptoms similar to tick paralysis, while red-bellied blacks create large swellings at the strike site. You don’t have long to act, probably less than half an hour! Keep grass short and remove rubbish piles to deny them hiding spots.