Ticks: description, types, what they look like, features and lifestyle

The onset of spring brings not only excellent weather, outdoor picnics and walks, but also such an unpleasant phenomenon as the activation of ticks. Ticks are small arthropods from the order of arachnids that have lived on the planet for several million years. Since they live mainly in the soil, the period of their activity occurs when it warms up to +5 degrees. Many of the representatives of this subclass are carriers of severe diseases such as tick-borne typhus, encephalitis and borreliosis. The number of species of mites is amazing and is recorded at approximately 50 thousand, but researchers divide the subclass itself into three groups: harvest mites, parasitiform and acarimorph mites.

Pliers: description

Such representatives of the arachnid species are not large in size, as they grow in length up to 3 mm and no more. The average size of these living creatures is in the range of 0.1-0.5 mm. Ticks, like all arachnids, lack wings. Adults have up to 4 pairs of legs, while juveniles have only 3 pairs of legs. Ticks also do not have eyes, but this feature does not prevent ticks from sensing their prey at a considerable distance, thanks to the presence of a special sensitive apparatus. Depending on the structure of the body, ticks are divided into several groups: leathery, with a head that is fused to the chest, and also with a head that is movably connected to the body (armored). Depending on this, each group breathes in its own way: the first 2 groups supply oxygen to their organs through the skin or trachea, and the last group breathes through a special organ.

Species diversity

What types of ticks are there, what do they eat and where do they live? These questions are asked by novice entomologists and simply nature lovers.

Saprophages

A large number of mites belong to the group of saprophages. They feed on organic debris and do not pose a threat to humans. The lifestyle and significance in nature is similar to earthworms. Saprophages contribute to the formation of soil humus. A typical representative of this group is the oribatid mite. It is the dominant species found in forest soil. Their number reaches hundreds of thousands of individuals per 1 m2. The size of adult individuals is 0.7-0.9 mm, their body is black.

Oribatids are an important link in the soil food chain. Oribatid mites have slow metabolism and development. The life cycle from egg to adult takes from several months to 2 years.

Attention. Some types of helminths parasitize the body of oribatids; feeding on grass with ticks, animals can become infected with tapeworms.

Phytophages or plant mites

Among arthropods, many species feed on plant sap or their remains. Phytophages are pests of indoor plants and agricultural crops. Their habitats are leaves, buds, roots, and bulbs. What types of mites can be found on plants?

Pests feed on the cell sap of plants, they bite into tissues and pierce leaves. General damage contributes to the drying out and death of crops. Spider mites are the most famous parasite on indoor flowers and agricultural crops. Due to its small size (0.3-0.5 mm), it is not immediately noticed on plants. The consequences of its vital activity are spots on the leaves and the appearance of cobwebs.

Mites live in colonies, hiding on the backs of leaves. Favorable conditions for their development are temperatures of 27-280 and low humidity. Larvae and adults feed on plant sap. If not treated with acaricidal preparations, spider mites can destroy the entire crop. On indoor plants, in addition to the common spider mite, you can find other species: red, Atlantic, red-legged.

Gall mites are members of the family of dangerous pests of forest trees and cultivated plants. They settle on apple trees, plums, pears, and grapes. They are small in size - 0.1-0.3 mm. The body is spindle-shaped and has four legs. Pests suck sap from tissues, causing deformation and the formation of galls (pathological formations on leaves, roots and other parts of plants).

Barn

This group of mites feeds on solid food - grain, flour and other products. Barn mites are distinguished by their viability and wide distribution. They settle not only in places where human supplies are stored, but also in animal burrows. They can be found in the soil, on tree roots, in mosses, and above-ground parts of plants.

The flour mite eats cereal and sunflower seeds, dry fruits and vegetables, and cheese. Body size is from 0.2 to 0.5 mm, the color is transparent. If it gets into food, it causes poisoning; if inhaled, an asthmatic reaction occurs.

Water inhabitants

Water mites have a rounded body and elongated legs with bristles, a structure that facilitates swimming. The larvae parasitize mollusks and aquatic insects. The development of ticks is unusual, there are two egg phases - primary and secondary, the larvae also go through two stages - six-legged and eight-legged. Members of this family are often brightly colored.

Diet of ticks

Depending on their diet, ticks are divided into:

• Saprophages that feed on organic matter.

Saprophages are involved in the process of converting humus, therefore they are considered very useful living beings. Parasitic mites, whose diet consists of plant sap, cause significant damage to agriculture. They destroy crop reserves at high speed.

Dust or scabies mites eat dead particles of human skin. Barn mites cause serious damage to food stored in warehouses. Subcutaneous mites eat fat that accumulates in human hair follicles. Spider mites suck the juices of various plants, including cultivated ones. Ear mites feed on the fat layer located in the ear canals.

• Predators that parasitize both animals and plants.

Blood-sucking ticks are constantly in their hiding places, where they wait for their potential victim. On the legs of these arachnids there are special claws and suction cups that allow them to cling to clothing, the body or skin of humans or animals. After they land on the body of their victim, they move to their places of vital activity. This could be the armpits, groin, head or neck area, etc. In this case, mites can parasitize the body of other types of mites or thrips.

Ticks, and especially their bites, are quite dangerous for humans, since parasites are carriers of fatal diseases such as encephalitis and others that are no less dangerous.

Ticks can remain without food for 3 years, but if they are very lucky, they become quite voracious, increasing in weight up to 120 times after being saturated with blood.

5 Most Dangerous Ticks in the World

Argaceae

The family consists of 12 species. They have a characteristic ovoid shape. Sometimes you can even say oval. There is no point to the head. The legs are often hidden under the shell.

In some ways, these individuals resemble bedbugs. The Persian tick is constantly confused with them. How can you tell them apart? The bug has a hard chitinous cover, while argasids have a soft, leathery shell.

Their color changes due to blood. Those who are full are purple in color, while those who are hungry are gray. They can infect cats, birds, and humans. The resilience of these parasites is amazing. Some of them are capable of fasting for up to 11 years. They are waiting for the right moment.

These animals are dangerous not only because they carry tick-borne fever, relapsing fever, and borelliosis, but also because of their bite. The saliva of these arachnids is toxic, so the consequences of a bite are rash, itching, and redness. Some species are as feared by Mexicans as rattlesnakes. The toxins cause paralysis and some animals die from their bite. Mammals that are infected with Argasidae often behave restlessly. The animal becomes depressed.

Let's look at the main photos of tick types and names to understand the differences:

1. Caucasian. Distribution area: Caucasus, southern Ukraine. He carries a dangerous disease - endemic relapsing fever.
2. Shell-type. It often infects pigeons, and there are cases of human infection.
3. Poselkovy. Carries spirochetes that cause borelliosis. Such an individual is dangerous due to the method of transmission of the disease. The arachnid can transmit the virus to its offspring. Thus, not only the tick, but also the virus multiplies.

Types of ticks with photos and descriptions

Scientists know about more than 40 thousand species of ticks, which are divided into 2 main groups. For example:

• Parasitiforms, such as gamasid, argasid, nutallium and ixodid ticks.
• Acariformes, such as scabies, hair, feather, marine, freshwater, thyroglyphoid, acaridia, oribatiformes, sarcoptiformes and thrombidiformes.
• Haymaking ticks are also isolated as a separate group.

Main types of ticks and their description:

Ixodid ticks

They differ in that their body is covered with reliable chitinous plates. Moreover, they can have quite impressive sizes. There are species that reach a length of up to 2.5 cm. This type of tick prefers to parasitize in temperate latitudes, where they hide in the leaves of trees and shrubs. Therefore, they are found on almost the entire Eurasian continent. Potential victims of ixodid ticks are wild or domestic animals, as well as humans. If it gets on the skin of its victim, it will be able to feed on blood for several weeks. The female is quite fertile, as she is capable of laying up to 17 thousand eggs per season.

Argasid mites

They prefer to live in crevices of various buildings and outbuildings, and can also live in bird nests, which birds do not use. Their potential victims are poultry and animals, although they can also attack humans. They are often found in chicken coops. Argas mites bite quite painfully, and a profuse rash appears at the site of the bite and unbearable itching occurs. This parasite is characterized by soft skin, and the head protrudes slightly beyond the body and seems barely noticeable.

Armored mites

They are found on the soil surface, although there are species that live in trees. These ticks are not parasites, since they feed on natural food, in the form of mushrooms, lichens, living plants and their remains, and they also eat various carrion. Despite this, oribatid mites pose a certain danger to both birds and animals. The fact is that they can infect with various types of helminths, including tapeworms.

Gamasid mites

They settle in bird nests, chicken coops, and also in rodent burrows, since they parasitize on them. This parasite lives for a little more than 6 months, growing up to 1 mm in length. During this period of time, the parasite can cause serious damage to poultry farms. Their vital activity leads to significant loss of feathers in birds, as well as the appearance of extensive scratching on the skin.

Subcutaneous mites

They live under the skin of humans or animals, causing a lot of discomfort. However, if parasites are not properly controlled, they can live for years, causing severe itching and irritation. The female lives no more than 3 months, but during this period she lays an average of 100 eggs, from which viable individuals emerge in just a couple of days.

Scabies mites

These are parasites that can cause a difficult-to-treat disease called scabies. At the same time, ticks parasitize both humans and animals. The problem is that parasites make a lot of tiny passages in the skin of a person or animal, which leads to itching and redness. Ticks feed on skin secretions. Adult ticks live no more than one and a half months, but during this time the female manages to lay eggs several times.

Ear mites

They settle in the ears of cats and dogs. They pose no danger to humans, but cause a lot of trouble to animals. Animals scratch their ears vigorously, which often leads to severe inflammation.

Dust mites (bed, linen)

They do not parasitize the body of humans or animals because they feed on dust, fluff, feathers or dead particles of human epidermis.

They often cause a disease such as asthma, which is practically untreatable. The female lives up to 4 months and during this time lays about 3 and a half hundred eggs.

Spider mites

They do not parasitize humans, animals or birds, as they are “vegetarians”. Their main diet consists of plant sap. They can be found on the plant if you look under the underside of the leaves. In addition to the fact that they actively suck juices from plants, they can infect the plant with gray rot. This disease can lead to the death of the plant.

Water (sea) mites

For their life activities, they choose various bodies of fresh water. Some species prefer to live in salty sea water. As a rule, they parasitize mollusks and other insects living in the water column.

Predatory mites

They destroy their relatives, so people use this factor in the fight against parasites in greenhouses and greenhouse farms. Typically, predatory mites help control spider mites.

Barn mites

These are quite serious pests that cause great damage to grain or flour stocks, although they do not pose a danger to humans. Its vital activity leads to the unsuitability of food products, as they become clogged with waste from the vital activity of parasites. This leads to the appearance of mold and rot, after which it is unsafe to eat such products.

Pasture mites

They are found in the southern regions of Russia, Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia, etc. Prefers to live in forest or forest-steppe zones. They pose a danger to both animals and humans, since after their bites you can become infected with encephalitis, plague, fever, etc.

Brown dog ticks

They pose a great danger to dogs, although they are safe for humans. They are found almost everywhere, but especially numerous populations are found in coastal areas and on the Black Sea coast.

Top 5 most dangerous types of ticks for humans.

What ticks are found in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

In our latitudes there are most taiga ticks, less black-legged ticks. Individuals of the dermacentor species (meadow and pasture mites) are also often found. In the southern regions you can find a couple of agras species.

In Russia, ticks are distributed almost throughout the entire territory, but infected individuals are found in the central, eastern and northern regions . Especially many cases of encephalitis infection are recorded in the Tomsk, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan and Tyumen regions, as well as in the Altai Mountains and Buryatia.

Habitat area of ​​encephalitis ticks

As for Ukraine, infected ticks are more common in the central regions, less often in the western and eastern regions. Approximately the same picture is observed in Belarus.

Where do ticks live?

Various types of ticks are found on almost all continents, regardless of climate zone. Ticks prefer damp areas of the landscape, so they are more often found in forest ravines, in undergrowth, in thickets of coastal vegetation, in flooded meadows, on overgrown paths, on animal fur, in dark warehouses, etc. Some species live in ponds, rivers, lakes and seas, and some species prefer human habitation and various outbuildings.

Domestic arachnids

Among the types of ticks and names, people recognize bed ticks. They live in blankets, pillows, soft fabrics, and toys. The individual has special suction cups on its legs to cling to surfaces. The body itself has a water-repellent layer.

The animals have a white belly and are quite small. Sometimes some species live in dusty places. Then they are called dust mites.

These arachnids are not bloodsuckers. They eat dead epidermis of human skin, which is found in dust, on furniture, beds, etc. They should not be confused with bedbugs, as bedbugs can cause more serious damage.

Why are such animals harmful? Their waste products cause allergies, symptoms of asthma, coughing, sneezing.

Mechanism of spread of ticks

On their own, ticks are not able to expand their living space, since they are able to overcome a few meters, but by attaching themselves to the body of a bird or animal, they are able to significantly expand their habitat. Ixodid ticks prefer to be in the temperate climate of Eurasia, but taiga and dog ticks are more common in Siberia, the Far East or the Baltic states.

Order Ixodida

Individuals of this order are the largest of all ticks. The order includes more than 900 species. All representatives of the order have a similar morphology, differing slightly from each other. They have egg-shaped bodies, 4 pairs of legs and brown coloration. The order of ixodid ticks includes 3 families:

• argasids (argas mites);
• ixodids (best known as ixodidae);
• nuttalliellides.

The latter family is a poorly studied endemic to Africa. Reliable data on whom it parasitizes is not yet available.

Argasid mites

Argazids parasitize cats, livestock and poultry. Man is no exception. The size of argasid mites is from 3 to 30 mm. The body is oval, flattened. A hungry individual is yellow-brown or grayish in color. The full one is brown. They differ from ixodids in the absence of a hard protective shell and paws “hidden” under the body. If the ixodid looks like a spider, then the argasid resembles a crawling plaque.

Interesting!

Argazids can live without food for 11 years.

Tick ​​order Ixodidae

Ixodid ticks

Ixodids are the best known and most annoying family. More than 700 species of ixodid ticks are distributed throughout the globe. Ticks of this family are found even in Antarctica and the Arctic, parasitizing birds.

The most famous are taiga and dog ticks. They have a three-level type of development: larva, nymph, adult. To move to a new stage of development, the tick must drink blood.

Morphologically, these two species are very similar:

• tick size 3-4 mm for a hungry female and 2.5 mm for a male; Having drunk blood, the adult female swells to 10 mm;
• egg-shaped body with a very sharp tip on the side of the head;
• The dark brown protective shield in the male covers the entire body, in the female only the upper part of the body;
• The color of the female who has drunk blood is light gray;
• spider-like appearance;
• 4 pairs of paws.

The dog tick is more common than the taiga tick and can parasitize any warm-blooded organism. Females prefer to drink blood from cattle, but dogs also return from a forest walk, hung with these ticks.

On a note!

Ixodids are temporary parasites. Having drunk blood, they fall to the ground.

Development (reproduction) cycle of ticks

Most species of ticks reproduce using eggs, although viviparous species are also found. All arachnids, including ticks, are characterized by division into the opposite sex. Blood-sucking parasites have the most interesting life cycle. In this case, the following stages of development are distinguished:

• Laying eggs.
• Appearance of larvae.
• Transformation into a nymph.
• Adult stage.

Ixodid (forest/taiga) tick – Ixodidae

Ixodid tick

The body is flat, round or oval (1-10mm). This is a gray mite, sometimes light yellow to brown, or almost black mite. Taiga ticks are bloodsuckers by nature of their diet. After feeding on blood, this forest tick turns gray or pinkish-yellowish. Stages of development of ixodid ticks: egg, larva, nymph and adult. The usual victims of larvae and nymphs are small animals, but ticks are found on humans just as often. They are usually attached to the head or other places with hair. The forest tick most often carries Lyme disease, that is, the well-known encephalitis, piroplasmosis and others. It is distributed all over the world. These are the most dangerous ticks.

Author: Julia Paydem

Laying eggs

Somewhere towards the end of spring, with the arrival of summer, the female begins laying eggs. In this case, the number of eggs can reach up to 3 thousand, but before that the female must be saturated with blood. Tick ​​eggs look quite voluminous compared to the size of the parasites themselves. Eggs consist of cytoplasm and a nucleus, which are covered with a reliable two-layer shell of various shades, depending on the species. Moreover, their shape can also be varied, both round and oval, both elongated and flattened.

Eggs

In the spring or late summer, having had enough of the blood of its victims, the fertile female tick makes a clutch consisting of 2.5-3 yew. eggs What do tick eggs look like? They are a very large cell, which consists of a nucleus and

cytoplasm, also covered with a two-layer membrane of different colors. Tick ​​eggs come in a variety of shapes, from oval to square, flattened and elongated.

How dangerous is a tick larva to humans?

After about 2-4 weeks, tick larvae emerge from the eggs, which have a direct resemblance to adult individuals. The only differences are their small size (only 0.5 mm) and the presence of 3 pairs of limbs, since adults have 4 pairs.

The body of parasites is not yet fully formed and some elements may be missing. The larvae appear in the warm season, so during this period they are most active. Since the larvae are still very small, they are not able to rise to a significant height. In this regard, their food items are rodents, hedgehogs, lizards, etc. Digging into the body of its victim, the larva consumes blood for 6 days, after which it falls off and ends up on the ground. The next stage of its development begins - the nymph stage. The larvae are not particularly affected by flooding and can remain under water for up to a month.

According to American scientists, the bite of a tick larva is as dangerous as the bite of an adult. This is especially true in relation to ticks, which carry dangerous diseases such as encephalitis.

Gamazovye

This infraorder includes 6,000 species. Of these, there are both parasites and harmless individuals. They often occupy different places. These can be nests, burrows, forest floor, trees.

Vary in size. Their body can reach 5 mm. Mostly small ones. They can parasitize not only mammals and birds, but also bees, snakes, lizards, and spiders.

Some also contain toxins that cause itching and redness in human skin.

They live short lives (up to 7 months). They settle in houses under unsanitary conditions. They live in secluded places and are difficult to notice. A person can become infected from poultry. Farmers raising various poultry, cows, goats must also inspect the animal. Monitor grazing and hygiene.

Man has adapted to use some species on the farm. Phytoseiulus is a predatory species. It is used in agriculture to eat crop pests. For example, it can feed on spider mites and wheat flies.

They have several subspecies (rat and mouse mites).

Tick ​​nymph and its danger

The nymph already has 4 pairs of legs, and its size reaches almost 2 mm. This parasite is already moving much more actively, so large animals or birds serve as food for it, and can also attack humans. What is most interesting is that the tick in the guise of a nymph overwinters and only with the onset of spring warmth it turns into sexually mature individuals of different sexes.

Nymphs, like adults, are capable of infecting humans with many serious diseases. Therefore, despite the fact that the tick individual has not yet formed properly, it is quite dangerous.

Principles of classification

Tick ​​species have different feeding preferences. Some feed on plant sap, others on rotting organic matter, others on blood, and others on dead parts of the epidermis and fur. But there are no highly specialized species among them. If it's sap, it's the sap of many plants. If blood, then from all warm-blooded organisms living in the area. If organic, then it is still of plant or animal origin. The classification of ticks is multi-stage. These animals are divided into groups not only by lifestyle, but also by type of nutrition and appearance.

On a note!

These arthropods are not insects, but are closer to animals such as spiders, crabs and crayfish.

Tick ​​bite and diseases

The tick bite itself is a rather painful sensation, which is accompanied by negative emotions, itching, burning, and inflammatory processes. If only it all ended there! Together with saliva, the parasite is capable of transmitting some, sometimes fatal, ailments to its victim. For example:

• Lyme Borreliosis.
• Tick-borne encephalitis.
• Epilepsy and hyperkinesis.
• Arthritis.
• Jades.
• Problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
• Pneumonia or pulmonary hemorrhage.
• Heart arrhythmia and blood pressure problems.
• Paralysis of the limbs, with loss of capacity and ability to care for oneself.

Symptoms of a tick bite

As a result of a tick bite, a number of negative reactions of the human body are possible. This is especially true for people prone to allergies. For example:

• Inflammation of the bite site, which is accompanied by a significant increase in body temperature, fatigue and general weakness, chills, aches throughout the body, photophobia, swollen lymph nodes or Quincke's edema.
• In addition, severe headache, nausea and vomiting, and signs of hallucination with breathing problems are possible.

First aid for a tick bite

A tick bite is characterized by the fact that the parasite digs into the body of its victim. The first task is to get rid of the parasite, and you need to adhere to a number of rules. Firstly, the parasite cannot be crushed, and secondly, it must only be removed entirely. The head must not be allowed to remain in the human body. Before the extraction process itself, the problem area must be treated with hydrogen peroxide, iodine or another antiseptic. The steps are as follows:

• The protruding outer part of the parasite must be lubricated with vegetable oil and wait about 5 minutes. The respiratory organs are located in the tail part of the tick. When the parasite begins to suffocate, he will somehow begin to get out of this trap.
• The tick can be treated with kerosene and after 10 minutes it will either come off on its own or its grip will weaken. In this case, you can “unscrew” it using tweezers.
• If there is a wax candle nearby, then it is set on fire and the melted wax is directed towards the part of the parasite protruding from the human body. The wax will harden and cut off oxygen to it, which will force the tick to crawl out.

Mandatory step! The live tick should be stored in a plastic bag. After this, it should be taken to the laboratory for examination. The earlier the disease is detected, the easier it will be to cope with it.

In any case, after a tick bite, it is better to seek help from a specialist. In some cases, it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance. Otherwise, death is possible.

How to remove a tick with a thread If bitten by a tick How to Remove a tick with a THREAD Poddubnye

How to remove a tick (Video)

Before moving on to methods for removing ticks, here is a small list of what should never be done:

1. Do not pick up a tick with your bare hands . Always use medical gloves; if not possible, use a bag.
2. If someone advised you to douse a tick with gasoline, vodka, or cover it with Vaseline, do not listen! There is a myth that if you block the supply of oxygen, the tick will come out on its own; this is a dangerous misconception. The tick won't come out. But injecting saliva, rich in encephalitis pathogens, into the blood is easy.
3. Do not press on the tick or pull it out using the usual method. The problem is that with such actions, the tick will most likely inject saliva into the blood, which may be infected.

The best advice we can give if you are bitten by a tick is to go to the nearest hospital immediately . There, the tick will be properly removed, the wound will be treated, and the insect will be sent for analysis to identify possible infections. If any disease is detected, it is much easier to treat it in the initial stages.

But if it is not possible to go to the hospital, then you should use one of the methods for properly removing a tick.

The first method is using special tweezers, which you can buy in advance.

The second method (field) of removing a tick is using a thread.

Removing a tick with a thread (photo)

Important! After fixing the tick with tweezers or thread, you need to unscrew it! Do not pull, do not press. Please exercise caution and patience.

Tick ​​protection

Nowadays, modern industry has launched the production of many products - repellents that can protect humans and pets from tick attacks. At the same time, you can choose drugs for both adults and children. As a rule, the products are available in the form of sprays, which simplifies their use; just spray them on clothes. It should also be noted that there are some folk remedies that repel parasites. Due to their great sensitivity, parasites detect unpleasant odors at a distance of several meters. That's why:

• Ticks cannot tolerate the odors of many plants, including geraniums, marigolds and lavender. When going into nature, it is enough to put fragments of these plants in your pockets.
• Essential oils from the same plants have the same positive effect. To repel parasites, simply apply them lightly to your wrists and clothing.
• To protect yourself from the negative consequences of tick bites, it is better to go to a special institution and get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. This disease is considered the most dangerous and most common.

Procedure for detecting a tick on the body

When a pest is discovered, a person may become confused. But there is a certain procedure that will help you collect your thoughts and not harm your health:

1. Carefully and immediately remove the tick from the surface of the skin, while trying not to damage its abdomen.
2. The removed parasite should be delivered to the laboratory of the sanitary and epidemiological station or other medical institutions conducting such research.
3. Mark and record the day of the bite on your calendar.
4. Monitor the condition of the body and immediately consult a doctor at the first signs of illness.
5. Based on the results of the tick examination, take appropriate measures: donate blood and receive specific treatment from a doctor.

How to properly remove a tick

It is not so easy to detect an attached parasite, so a thorough examination of the body after a walk in nature is important. Most often they attach to the scalp and in areas with soft skin tissue.

Favorite attack spots:

• place behind the ears and auricles,
• head,
• neck,
• inner sides of elbows,
• armpits,
• stomach,
• groin area,
• inner sides of the legs,
• area under the knees.

To remove a tick you can use:

1. Thread.
2. Forceps.
3. Loop.
4. Patch.
5. Tweezers.

The essence of all devices is the same: place them as close to the skin as possible, pull slowly and carefully!

To avoid contact with the pest's abdomen, which is the main part of the transmission of possible infection, it is important to use gloves!

After removing the tick, treat the area with an antiseptic or wash with soap and water. And the person who removed it must wash their hands!

There is no need to panic if the head of the parasite remains in the skin, because there is nothing dangerous in this. In fact, it’s like a splinter that will come out on its own in a few days. But if this bothers you, then it can be removed with a pre-heated needle or pin. Rinse the bite area with soapy water, treat well and dry. Disinfect the wound with iodine.

After removing the caught bloodsucker, it must be placed in a clean container with a small piece of damp cotton wool, gauze or paper for subsequent laboratory analysis.

What you should never do when removing a tick

Among the folk methods, there are not only useless, but also life-threatening methods for extracting the parasite.

Never crush ticks with your hands!

Splashes of abdominal fluid and salivary glands of the pest can get on damaged areas of the skin, as well as on the mucous membranes of the mouth and nose, which can cause disease.

It is not recommended to use substances that must be applied directly to the tick's body. Cannot be used for these purposes:

• vegetable oils,
• alcohol,
• petrolatum,
• fat,
• kerosene,
• melted candle wax,
• varnish,
• nail liquid,
• petrol,
• essential oils.

QUEST

LETTER: N

They CANNOT be used to extract the parasite, as in an unfavorable environment it can regurgitate infected abdominal contents into the host's blood. And the probability of infection will increase several times, even though the pest may die after such manipulations.

Do not seal the space next to the tick with a plaster, tape or bag to block its access to air.

In such stressful conditions, it may not only not come out, but also behave in the opposite way - by introducing an infection into the human blood.

After removing a tick, you should not throw it away or release it into nature.

He needs an urgent examination to establish the presence or absence of the disease. For these purposes, it must be placed in a container and taken to the laboratory. Both living and dead pests are suitable for research.

You should not try to figure out on your own whether a tick is infected or not, or self-medicate a possible dangerous disease without control and prescription from a doctor.

Only with the help of medical care is it possible to establish the disease and the degree of its complexity. Competent and timely treatment can save you from serious and irreversible consequences, as well as disability and death.

Preventive measures

When visiting the forest, it is necessary to strictly observe conditions that prevent parasites from penetrating under clothing.

1. Wear the right clothing that will cover as much as possible all exposed areas of the body.
2. Choose wide paths for walking.
3. Carry out periodic inspection every 2 hours.
4. Carefully inspect clothing and body on the way home.
5. When you return, take a shower and wash your walking clothes.

For a hike in nature, there are strict requirements for wardrobe items:

• Give preference to light shades so that the pest can be immediately detected.
• Button up your outerwear tightly and tuck it into your pants if necessary.
• And the pants, in turn, should be tucked into socks or boots.
• Use items with elastic, ties and a hood.
• Don't neglect hats.

How are tick-borne infections transmitted to humans?

There are three main methods of transmission of tick-borne infection:

1. By a tick bite - during blood sucking along with its saliva,
2. By contact - through the interaction of infection with lesions on the skin (for example, when crushing a tick with unprotected bare hands),
3. Ingestion - when consuming infected raw milk from sheep, goats and cows.

Tick-borne diseases are not transmitted from person to person!

But in ticks, pathogens are inherited - from female to offspring, so dangerous carriers constantly circulate among them!

Interesting facts about ticks

• The smallest tick is known to reach a size of 0.08 mm. Because of this, this species is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
• 3 adult specimens, each 0.2 mm in size, form a point commensurate with the size of a faintly noticeable point.
• The subfamily of ticks “Argasidae” has the ability of omovampirism, when hungry individuals attack their relatives who were able to get enough blood.
• The tick-borne encephalitis virus, like many other diseases, is transmitted transovarially. This means that an infected tick is able to lay already infected eggs, passing the disease on to future generations of ticks.
• Female ixodid ticks feed much more actively than males. As a result of complete saturation, the individual becomes 150 times larger than its hungry relatives.
• Ticks can lay completely unfertilized eggs, although completely viable larvae are subsequently born from them. This phenomenon is called parthenogenesis, which allows ticks to give birth to offspring without having sexual partners.
• Ticks can live up to 3 years without food, and such a hunger strike does not cause them any harm.

Mealy (mealy) or granary mite

Flour mite

The mealy mite is microscopic, with a body length of 0.32-0.67 mm. The flour mite feeds on cereals, flour, meat products, and dried fruits. The barn mite is a pest of food stored in the home. Grain that has been damaged by flour mites is unsuitable for consumption. The flour mite carries E. coli and various bacteria. Their skin causes allergies and dermatoses, especially in children. The flour mite also contributes to diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, shortness of breath, anaphylaxis, and kidney disease. The flour mite does not tolerate low temperatures. For fumigation of large premises, it is recommended to use acaricides Phostoksin, Fostek.