Ticks

[Franky]

Ticks are commonly thought of as insects, they are actually arachnids like scorpions, spiders and mites. All members of this group have four pairs of legs as adults and have no antennae.

Adult ticks are among the most-efficient carriers of disease because they attach firmly when sucking blood, feed slowly and may go unnoticed for a substantial time while feeding. Ticks take several days to complete feeding.
Ticks have four life stages: egg, six-legged larva, eight-legged nymph and adult. After the egg hatches, the tiny larva (sometimes called a “seed tick”) feeds on an appropriate host.

The larva then develops (molts) into the larger nymph. The nymph feeds on a host and then molts into an even larger adult. Both male and female adults find and feed on a host, then the females lay eggs a short time after feeding. Adult female ticks feed only once. Once fed, the female drops to the ground and deposits her eggs (as many as 10,000 or more in a single batch).

Depending on conditions such as temperature and humidity, larvae will hatch from the eggs in anywhere from two weeks to several months.

Ticks wait for host animals from the tips of grasses and shrubs (not from trees). When brushed by a moving animal or person, they quickly let go of the vegetation and climb onto the host. Ticks can only crawl; they cannot fly or jump. Ticks found on the scalp have usually crawled there from lower parts of the body. Some species of ticks will crawl several feet toward a host.

One of the most frequently encountered ticks is the American dog tick, also sometimes known as the wood tick. The larvae and nymphs feed on small warm-blooded animals such as mice and birds. The adult dog tick will feed on humans and medium to large mammals such as raccoons and dogs.

The deer tick, becoming more common by the minute, will feed on a variety of hosts, including wildlife biologists and hunters. After the eggs hatch in the spring, the very tiny larvae feed primarily on white-footed mice or other small mammals. The following spring, the larvae molt into pinhead-sized, brown nymphs that will feed on mice, larger warm-blooded animals and people. In the fall, they molt into adults that feed primarily on deer, with the females laying eggs the following spring.

Adults are reddish-brown and about 1/8-inch long (or about one-half the size of the more familiar female American dog tick). Deer ticks can transmit Lyme disease.

The best way to protect yourself against tick-borne illness is to avoid tick bites. This includes avoiding known tick-infested areas. Probably not the most practical advice for either a deer hunter who tramps around in the fields and forests … or … the wildlife biologist who canvases the countryside collecting biological samples.

Despite this impracticality, there are some basic tips that can help protect hunter and biologist alike.

Wear protective clothing such as long-sleeved shirts, long trousers, boots or sturdy shoes and a head covering. (Ticks are easier to detect on light-colored clothing.) Tuck trouser cuffs in socks. Duct tape the area where pants and socks meet so ticks cannot crawl under clothing (yeah, I know, it looks pretty stupid, but it works).

* Apply insect repellent containing DEET primarily to clothes.

* Walk in the center of trails so weeds do not brush against you.

* Check yourself, children and other family members every two to three hours for ticks. Most ticks seldom attach quickly and rarely transmit disease organisms until they have been attached four or more hours. If your pets spend time outdoors, check them for ticks, too.

* Remove any tick promptly. The mouthparts of a tick are barbed and may remain embedded and lead to infection at the bite site if not removed promptly. The best way to remove a tick is to grasp it firmly with tweezers as close to the skin as possible and gently, but firmly, pull it straight out. Do not twist or jerk the tick. If tweezers are not available, grasp the tick with a piece of tissue or cloth or whatever can be used as a barrier between your fingers and the tick.

* Wash the bite area and your hands thoroughly with soap and water and apply an antiseptic to the bite site.

* If you have an unexplained illness with fever, contact a physician. Be sure to tell the physician if you have been outdoors in areas where ticks were present or traveled to areas where tick-borne diseases are common.

If you experience a rash that looks like a bull's-eye, or a rash anywhere on the body or an unexplained illness accompanied by fever following a tick bite, consult your physician and explain that you were bitten by a tick. Disease carried by ticks may be treated with antibiotics.

In reviewing this Outdoor Report, I think I will request that my new Labradoodle puppy read it. I have picked many ticks from him over the past few weeks. I know he can read, but I am not too sure he will go for duct taping his legs.

Charles D. Dyke, is a wildlife biologist with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

[jovie]

Thanks for the information. What makes this so bad for me is the fact I still don't know where I got it. I went out on a few camp adventures but cant pin point which one got me sick. And every since I have never been the same. For such small pests they cause so much harm. Same with morgellons and Lyme disease.