What kind of ticks live in the house?
Bed mite.
This microscopic insect, 0.1 to 0.2 mm, belongs to the genus of saprophagous dust mites. It feeds on dead particles of human skin. Causes allergenic reactions.
Ixodid tick.
These insects do not live in the apartment, but can get into it if they are accidentally brought on clothes. An insect can also sneak into a home on the fur of a dog or cat. By the way, animals can also bring scabies mites into the house.
Dust mite.
The insect constantly lives in house dust, barely reaching 0.2 mm in size. Causes severe allergic reactions.
Spider mite.
Lives on indoor plants, causing them harm.
Appearance of the parasite
The popular belief that a tick is an insect is completely wrong. In fact, this parasite is an arachnid.
The length of a tick is usually no more than three millimeters. The average length of the parasite is even less: 0.1-0.5 millimeters. Does a tick have wings? Just like any arachnid, the parasite has no wings at all. However, adult individuals have four legs, while forest ticks that have not reached puberty can boast only three.
It is interesting that the tick does not only have wings: the bloodsucker also does not have eyes. This does not prevent them from being able to navigate the terrain well, due to their very developed sensory apparatus. It is thanks to their developed senses that forest ticks can smell a possible victim at distances that are large for their size - ten meters.
Ticks can be divided into separate sections:
- Leatherbacks with fused head and chest. They inhale air using the trachea and skin. Photos of the tick are presented below
- Armored with a head attached to the body. Breathing in this species is possible with the help of special spiracles. Photos of the tick are presented below
Chemicals for home control
You can treat your apartment against ticks yourself, provided you follow safety rules. There are many special products on sale:
Bedlam Plus
Acaril
All-Rug
X-mite
Allergoff
"Dobrohim Micro"
"Raid"
Akaitoks
Cypermethrin
Tea tree oil
Spray Easi Ai
What should I do if bitten by a tick?
Obviously, the forest tick poses a considerable danger to people, which is why it is important not only to get rid of the parasite when a bite is detected, but also to check it for the presence of any diseases.
The best solution would be to have the bloodsucker removed directly by a doctor to get rid of problems in the future. However, it is not always the case that it is possible to visit a specialist to remove the parasite, so you need to carry out the procedure yourself.
Before proceeding with removal, you must wash your hands thoroughly. It is better to use soap to avoid infection. Alcohol or an alcohol solution is good for treating the bite site, but it must be treated in such a way as not to hurt the pest. As soon as the preparatory part comes to an end, you need to pick up tweezers or thread. Under no circumstances should you use your fingers to remove them, as they are too wide for the procedure. It is necessary to wrap the proboscis and unscrew it from the skin by turning it.
To make it easier to imagine how this movement occurs, think about the fact that you need to turn a mechanism that is well lubricated. There is no need to put special pressure on yourself, cause unnecessary inconvenience to yourself, or put in a lot of effort. The person who removes the forest tick must allow it to crawl out of the victim’s skin on its own.
Remember that the remaining parts of the pest also pose a danger to people, so they also need to be removed. After the procedure, you need to walk over the affected area again with alcohol to disinfect the area. Often the main problem arises here: the tick’s proboscis becomes tightly stuck in the victim. In this case, you need to wait a certain time. If it does not fall off on its own when the wound dries, you need to visit a doctor.
Who eats forest ticks?
First of all, in answering the question of who eats forest ticks in nature, it must be said that ticks are in last place in the food chain, which means that forest ticks have plenty of enemies.
- In the first place are birds, primarily sparrows, which are not averse to feasting on ticks.
- In second place are insects such as dragonflies, ichneumon wasps, ground beetles and bugs.
- In forests, it is better for ticks not to meet ants, especially large red forest ants, since ticks are part of their diet.
- In water bodies, the enemies of the forest tick are frogs, toads, lizards and other amphibians.
Note: forest ticks occupy an important place in the food chain. If there are no parasites at all, then entire species of insects and birds that feed on them may disappear!
Are forests sprayed against ticks today?
This practice has not been used for a long time, so there may be quite a lot of these parasites in the forests. You need to fight the pest yourself. It will be much easier to spend a little time on prevention and protect yourself from tick bites than to solve a problem associated with serious diseases in the future.
In addition to treating park areas with chemicals against ticks, these insects also have natural enemies who are not averse to eating them. Who is this? We will talk about this with you further...
How to protect yourself from forest ticks?
As soon as you are going to the forest, think carefully about your wardrobe. Choose suitable clothing for this purpose, which will primarily protect you. If you are bitten by a forest tick, be careful when removing it and do everything in accordance with the recommendations.
Video: how to remove forest ticks with thread
The most important thing is to be careful and attentive when traveling in areas where there is predominantly dense foliage. If you follow all preventive measures and regularly examine your own body for tick bites, you will be beyond the reach of dangerous diseases.
Video: who eats forest ticks
Background information for tick control
To effectively act against parasites, you should have basic knowledge, which includes ideas about the appearance of arachnids (additional information on the differences between ticks and insects is described on the page “ Fighting ticks ”); their habitats at different stages of development.
Necessary knowledge when exterminating Ixodes pacificus ticks
A nymph not filled with blood has a size of less than 1 mm, four pairs of legs, a dark brown-black spot on the back and a light translucent abdominal cavity. The length of an adult female in the same state is about 4 mm. It has an elongated mouth, brown-black legs and a spot of the same color that covers the front half of the back, as well as a reddish-orange belly. The fight against ticks in the nymph stage is more difficult due to its small size. Having drunk enough blood, the female increases in size by 5 times. The adult male is slightly smaller than the female, more oval in shape and brownish-black.
The species Ixodes pacificus most often attacks people and animals and its bites are very dangerous (for more information, see the page “ Destruction of ticks ”). However, not only adults, but also nymphs and pupae are absorbed into the skin. In this regard, you need to know where they live.
Difficulty in controlling ticks at the nymph stage
Nymphs can be found in a variety of locations, but particularly prefer and locate in the deciduous and coniferous forest floors of certain types of dense forests, such as oak groves, where tick control is rare. Unlike adults, nymphs do not climb into low vegetation in search of prey. On the contrary, they live in fallen leaves and climb fallen tree trunks to a height of approximately 70-90 cm. Foliage and windbreaks make tick control difficult. Thus, any human activity in dense forests (collecting brushwood, picnics, sitting on logs and stumps, cutting down trees) increases the risk of contracting Lyme disease, since, naturally, ticks are not killed in advance.
Lizards are especially attractive to nymphs, but they also attach to birds and small mammals. When they come into contact with a person, they feed for several days, then detach and fall off. Often people do not notice this and do not control ticks. After falling, the nymph molts and turns into an adult after weeks or months.
Fighting ticks on your own
Adult ticks actively search for their victims from early spring to late summer, but can also attack in the fall. They climb into low vegetation - grass or bushes - and wait for hours or days to attack medium or large prey - rabbits, dogs or moose. The destruction of ticks is also important from the point of view of preserving the health of forest inhabitants.
Most often, people encounter parasites while in meadows and woodlands. Elementary measures to combat ticks in this case is the use of repellents. Studies have shown that about 85% of adult ticks attach to human clothing (from ankle to knee) when walking. When it comes to eliminating ticks, it's a good idea to inspect your pants or trousers frequently to identify the presence of ticks and remove them before they reach your skin. When fighting ticks, it is important not to miss a single individual. If an adult female is attached, she will suck blood for about a week, drinking greedily and increasing to 4 times its original size. If you find embedded parasites, the destruction of ticks must be entrusted to a specialist.
Otherwise, the female leaves the victim and lays 900 to 1000 eggs in the ground or other suitable place. Therefore, timely control of ticks will reduce costs in the future. Adult males rarely attach themselves to humans and drink little blood, but, nevertheless, we cannot discount the fact that they transmit pathogenic organisms to people and animals.
Red heifers
A very small type of parasite. Adults are about 1 mm in size, larvae are 0.02 mm in size. Larvae parasitizing mice cause thrombidiasis in humans. Signs of thrombidiasis:
- itchy, inflamed spots;
- nodules;
- pustules.
The signs are very similar to flea bites.
On a note!
Since clothing prevents the larvae from spreading freely throughout the body, the main affected area in humans is the ankles.
When bitten, larvae can transmit some infectious diseases:
- Q fever;
- tsutsugamushi;
- African tick-borne rickettsiosis.
Red beetles
Thrombidiasis is caused by the larvae themselves. Their food is not blood, as for ixodids, but skin cells. The larvae of red mite mites live under the skin, in the hair follicles. The body reacts to the introduction of the larvae by the formation of irritated spots and itching. Scratching can cause a complication - pyoderma. The latter is caused by pyogenic cocci. After feeding for several days, the larvae fall away from the host and the remaining stages of transformation take place on the ground.
Ticks and diseases
Ixodid ticks are carriers of many dangerous diseases. Moreover, one tick bite can lead to several diseases at once, which can lead to complications and death.
The most dangerous disease is tick-borne encephalitis. The virus is dangerous for the nervous system; complications will affect the spinal cord and brain. Symptoms of influenza-like encephalitis are similar to those of a cold - aching joints, muscle pain, weakness. The meningeal form is characterized by the same symptoms, but severe headaches and chills are felt. Timely consultation with a doctor is necessary, otherwise there is a risk of remaining disabled (this is in the best case) and even dying.
An equally dangerous disease after a pest bite is tick-borne borreliosis or tick-borne lyme. The incubation period of the disease lasts from a week to one month. The symptoms are the same as those described above, but a clearly defined red ring almost always appears at the site of the bite. Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics, but the advanced form is difficult to deal with. The consequences of the disease are severe and rare forms of arthritis, arthrosis and dermatitis.
If you are bitten by a tick, the symptoms of typhus and relapsing tick-borne typhus are characterized by chills, fever up to 40 degrees, a feeling of weakness and heavy sweating. With typhus, areas of skin necrosis and subsequently a rash are possible. With relapsing typhus, a cherry-colored papule develops.
Ticks are carriers of the piroplasmosis virus. It is not dangerous for humans, but it can seriously harm pets. Piroplasmosis in animals is manifested by high fever, lethargy, diarrhea, and lack of appetite.
Features of processing
The best time for anti-tick treatment is the beginning of April, when parasites come out of hibernation.
In garden/dacha plots, the event is carried out with preliminary preparation:
- owners of neighboring plots are notified of the time of treatment;
- Everything extraneous is removed from personal plots: furniture, garden equipment, dishes, toys;
- all windows and doors in houses are closed;
- pets and people should be kept at home;
- on the day of treatment and the next day there should be dry, windless weather.
At the end of the treatment, wet cleaning with a soda solution is carried out on stairs, garden swings and other objects on the site. In the treated area there is a ban on collecting fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, and berries for 10 days.
To combat parasites, acaricidal drugs are used - certified products with high efficiency. With their help, it is possible to destroy ticks and prevent the colonization of the treated area by new individuals.
The processing process consists of the following stages:
- a visual inspection of the site is carried out: flower beds, grass, low tree branches are checked;
- selection of optimal drugs against ticks is carried out;
- the area is treated using the cold/hot fog method;
- treatment of the area around the perimeter with a special emphasis on barrier deratization. This must be done because rats are the main source of tick movement.
