What allows ticks to tick (i.e. quest in search of a host)? There are many underlying factors that determine why ticks tick; one of these factors is climate. The geographic distributions and seasonal abundances of ticks have been shown to be closely related to climate. Here, I present my past work on the eastern paralysis tick of Australia, Ixodes holocyclus. The eastern paralysis tick is a tick of much veterinary importance in Australia: when this tick feeds, it releases a cocktail of neurotoxins into its host, which leads to an ascending flaccid paralysis, often leading to death. Indeed, thousands of dogs and cats in Australia die each year due to 'tick-paralysis' and/or complications arising from tick-paralysis. Armed with over 200,000 records of veterinary consultations along the eastern coast of Australia, I studied the relationship between tick-paralysis and climate. I found that climate could explain seasonal variations in tick-paralysis cases, and was able to predict the number of cases of tick-paralysis to an accuracy of 1.3%, using an independent set of data. This study on I. holocyclus adds on to our growing understanding of what allows ticks to tick, allowing us to predict why ticks live where they live; why they do not live where they do not; and when 'hot' and 'cold' seasons of tick activity are, allowing for timely, targetted surveillance and risk management of ticks and their associated pathogens.