Hello everyone, Olga Ryshkova is with you. With the arrival of spring and warming, blood-sucking insects appeared. One of the most dangerous ticks for humans is ixodid ticks; they carry many dangerous diseases. It is wrong to think that these arthropods only transmit tick-borne encephalitis.

Why is a tick bite dangerous?

What can ticks infect? While they are sucking your blood, you can get tick-borne diseases:

When sucking blood, an infected tick transmits the tick-borne encephalitis virus to humans, the danger of which is that it affects the central nervous system. If the gray matter of the brain is involved in the process of inflammation, encephalitis develops; if the membranes of the brain and spinal cord are involved, meningitis develops; if both, meningoencephalitis develops. The consequences are severe, including damage to the motor pathways of the nervous system (paresis, possibly muscle paresis, intestinal paresis, bladder paresis), paralysis and even death.

From the tick bite to the appearance of signs of the disease (incubation period) 1-2 weeks pass. Then malaise, lack of appetite, fever (body temperature rises to 38-39.5 0 C), nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and headache appear. This is the first phase and for most people, after it ends, the disease recedes. But in 20-30% of people, after an 8-day break, the second phase begins with the development of symptoms of tick-borne viral encephalitis - a disorder of consciousness, sensitivity and motor functions or meningitis - a sharp headache, fever, tension in the neck muscles).

Are all ticks dangerous?

Not all. 12-13% of ticks are infected with tick-borne encephalitis virus. But they can be infected with borreliosis bacteria, rickettsia, anaplasma, Crimean hemorrhagic fever or West Nile fever viruses. Carriers of Crimean hemorrhagic fever are common in steppes and semi-desert landscapes.

Where to expect a tick attack?

Where do ticks live? The habitat of ticks is grass, from there they crawl onto shoes and clothes. Most of them are in coniferous-deciduous mixed forests. Ticks are concentrated along paths where people walk or wait on the grass by the side of roads. They are found in city parks, cemeteries and summer cottages. Ticks are very sensitive to human heat and crawl upward until they find an area of ​​skin.

But danger must be expected from everywhere. Ticks do not live on trees and do not crawl onto them, but they climb onto bushes and sit there, spreading their legs and waiting for their prey. If a child passes by, the tick will be at the level of his head and will try to fall on it or catch on his hair. If an adult catches a branch, the tick will try to grab onto clothing.

The tick can cling to the dog's tail and she will bring it into the yard or into the house. It clings to the feathers of birds and, if you are sitting under a branch on which such a bird has sat, it can fall on your head.

It was calculated by the Office of Rospotrebnadzor of one of the Volga regions that of the total number of those who sought medical help, 39% suffered a tick attack in the forest, 30.1% - in summer cottages, 5.7% - in city squares and parks, 2.05% — in cemeteries, 0.7% in tourist centers.

When ticks are active.

When do ticks wake up? The first appearance of ticks occurs when the snow melts, it becomes warm and insects appear - the season has begun. The period of greatest activity of ticks is from the 2nd ten-day period of May to the 2nd ten-day period of June. At the end of June and July, their numbers and activity decrease. But from August the rise in the number of active ticks begins again, which is called autumn, and it ends in October.

Areas of distribution of encephalitis ticks

For tick-borne encephalitis, the most dangerous regions are those in which ticks are most common. Such areas are called natural foci of tick-borne infections. This is primarily Siberia, the Urals, the Far East (this is the most dangerous region), as well as the Volga region, central Russia and Karelia.

With the onset of spring warmth, pleasant walks in a park or forest can be overshadowed by a tick bite, not only of the person himself, but also of the pet walking with him. To protect yourself and your animals from tick attacks, it is better to have an idea of ​​where ticks live and how they reproduce.

What are ticks

Ticks are just small arachnid arthropods that have lived for millions of years and inhabited the Earth long before humans appeared on it. Therefore, it can be argued that as long as a person lives, he is accompanied by bites from representatives of this family.

Ticks can rightly be classified as faithful and constant companions of all living things - for millions of years, where there is vegetation or living creatures, these spiders can be found from hot Africa to the harsh taiga of the Eurasian continent, from deserts to rainforests. That is, it is difficult to find a place on the planet where ticks do not live.

The rest of the ticks live in various types of vegetation, feed on plant components, organic matter, their relatives or their remains, without posing any threat to humans.

Which ticks are dangerous to humans and pets?

• ear mites affecting the outer ear and ear canal;
• scabies that affect the subcutaneous layers;
• demodicosis, when the face and the area around it are mainly affected.

Prevention consists of strict adherence to hygiene rules, especially where such ticks and their carriers live.

Argasid and ixodid ticks

It is their accidental bites, possible during walks and trips into nature, that people rightly fear, wanting to avoid the following unpleasant and sometimes dangerous moments:

• infection of the bitten person with pathogens of dangerous diseases;
• itching and allergic reactions;
• dermatitis and other skin lesions.

Argasid mites

Not all representatives of argasid mites are capable of causing harm with their attacks in our region; residents of South America suffer from the majority of them.

In our latitudes, the most likely danger from this family is the following representatives:

Where do ixodid ticks live and how do they get on victims?

As soon as the ground cover warms up above 5 degrees, bloodsuckers crawl out of last year’s grass deposits on their patient hunt, waiting for a likely suitable victim from representatives of warm-blooded animals to pass by.

Ticks do not live on trees, as many people think, preferring moist grass cover. Climbing onto a blade of grass, a branch of a bush, a twig, bloodsuckers can wait as long as they want, sometimes for months, for a source of food in order to use the claws on their paws to cling to fur or clothing, and when they reach the skin, use special suction cups to attach themselves to it and bite.

How far a tick can climb when climbing depends on the stage of maturation - it is a larva, a nymph or an adult spider.

• The larva of an ixodid tick above 30 cm is not able to climb, so it feeds on the blood of small animals and birds. One “feast” is enough, which can last for several days, and the larva falls into the grass to continue the transformation. For humans it poses an unlikely threat of attachment.
• The nymph can already afford to climb higher in order to increase the chance of meeting a potential warm-blooded victim. But still, she rarely manages to overcome more than a meter. A one-time saturation is also enough for a nymph, and a person may well become her probable accidental “breadwinner.”
• It is difficult to find an adult tick taller than one and a half meters. This is the maximum height from which it can reach the body of its victim. It is adult bloodsuckers that actively attack people and animals, including large ones.

Therefore, it is wrong to avoid places where trees grow. In fact, you need to be wary of thickets of grass and bushes, try not to walk near the edges of paths, and do not choose wild grassy meadows for an overnight stay or a picnic. It is better to prefer “bald” clearings, and in a pine forest on a dry layer of fallen pine needles, where there is no grass, it is completely unrealistic to encounter a tick.

Why are ixodid ticks dangerous?

The highest danger from a tick bite is the transmission of the causative agent of encephalitis to the victim.

• If not treated in a timely manner, a person faces death. Statistics for Russia indicate 2,300 cases of infection with tick-borne encephalitis in 2015, 24 people died. The only effective protective measure is vaccination against encephalitis.
• The second danger is the transmission of Lyme disease, or borreliosis, through the bite of a bloodsucker, which, if treatment is inadequate or not prescribed in a timely manner, leads to severe disability and even death.
• For pets, there is an increased risk of contracting piroplasmosis after a tick attack, resulting in the death of the animal if treatment is not started immediately after the tick attack.

The carriers of these diseases in the northern hemisphere in most cases are 2 types of ixodid ticks - taiga and dog ticks.

How do Ixodid ticks reproduce?

• A sexually mature female, drinking a lot of blood, lays a huge number of eggs, more than 15,000, in the grass. But how many of them will survive to the adult stage depends largely on environmental conditions. Usually several dozen spiders become such lucky ones. The masonry maturation process lasts several weeks.
• The hatched larva feeds on blood once. Since heights are not available to her, she is forced to attack small warm-blooded animals. The “feast” can last for several days, after which she falls into the grass and, digesting the sucked blood, transforms into the next stage of the nymph. This process often extends until autumn, and the nymphs remain overwintering at this stage.
• In the spring, with the first warmth, the nymph is already ready to hunt. She is already able to climb larger animals. Having eaten once, she will ripen to adulthood for about a year.
• A male mature tick sucks blood from half an hour to several hours, which is necessary for him to mate.

When ixodid ticks bite through the skin, they inject an enzyme with an analgesic.

Measures to protect against tick attacks

When going to a park, forest, or planting, use any form of repellent, wear closed clothing, and protect your pet with drops, spray, or a collar. When you return, carefully inspect the body and, if you find a tick, remove it correctly.

If you live in a tick-infested area or are planning a trip there, vaccination is the best preventative measure.

Ixodid ticks (Ixodidae) are one of the most famous families of the subclass Acari. They are found on all continents and live within almost all identified natural and climatic zones. Ixodids live even outside the Arctic Circle, which indicates their high adaptability and ability to survive in extreme conditions.

The greatest species diversity of ticks is characteristic, first of all, of forests of the tropics and subtropics (due to the relatively high level of humidity, complex layered composition of vegetation and the richness of possible hosts).

We will talk further about where exactly and in what months of the year the risk of encountering ticks is greatest...

Where are ixodid ticks found?

Ticks concentrate where there are the necessary microclimatic indicators and where their potential hosts live. Within the main natural zones, these bloodsuckers are distributed mosaically, and can often form massive concentrations of numbers.

It is worth keeping in mind that ticks migrate only slightly in the horizontal direction - they take a wait-and-see attitude and resort to active pursuit only in exceptional cases.

In the photo below, the bird's mites around the eyes are clearly visible:

Thus, the main habitats of ticks are:

• forest paths;
• well-warmed and moistened forest edges and forest clearings;
• pastures;
• parks and squares in cities, lawns;
• vegetable gardens, gardens in the country, which are often visited by pets and people.

Therefore, this group of species has developed special adaptations to counteract the harmful effects of the environment. These counteractions are expressed in the choice of habitats, and here two groups of ticks are distinguished:

• pasture bloodsuckers;
• burrowing bloodsuckers.

Pasture and burrow bloodsuckers

In search of better microclimatic conditions, some species of ticks took a simplified path and settled in the burrows of their hosts, where it is always warm enough, humid and there is food. Other species have adapted to life in forests and open spaces.

On a note

On a note

When there is a lack of water in the body, ticks descend to moist substrates and absorb moisture throughout their bodies.

A common misconception is that ticks fall from trees and shrubs. In reality, they do not climb trees, but are found exclusively in the herbaceous layer. Therefore, the greatest danger is posed by lush, tall grass in places where animals and people frequently move.

As for burrow ticks, they live almost exclusively in the burrows and nests of their owners, and for this reason they usually do not pose a danger to humans. This includes, first of all, Argasid mites; similar species are less common among Ixodids.

The life cycles of ticks are quite complex, which is associated with the characteristics of metamorphosis and the need to find and change hosts. At the same time, the life activity of the same species differs significantly within different natural zones, and directly depends on the microclimatic parameters of the habitat. The rhythms of life cycles depend entirely on the seasonal dynamics of abiotic factors, such as daylight hours, humidity, temperature, etc.

On a note

The most primitive are continuous cycles, in which synchronization with seasonal rhythms is minimized. This type of ontogenesis is typical for species living in warm and humid tropical climates or in burrows of animals and birds, where fluctuations in microclimatic parameters are insignificant.

The most complex cycles are characteristic of ticks, which require special adaptations to survive unfavorable environmental conditions (primarily winter temperatures).

The longest and most complex development cycles are characteristic of the European taiga and forest ticks, the ranges of which have shifted far to the north, much further than the ranges of other species. Normally, for the full development of each stage of ontogenesis, it takes about 1 year, so the minimum period of development from egg to adult is 3 years, and the maximum is 6 years.

Adults, mostly adult and hungry females, attack large mammals and humans in April-May, with the peak of aggressiveness occurring in the second ten days of May. At this time, they wait for their prey in tall grass in pastures, near ponds, forest paths, in parks and squares in cities.

On a note

Often the eggs are attached to grassy vegetation, or less often the female lays them directly on the fur of animals - then the hatched larvae will not need to look for a feeder.

The eggs laid in the summer hatch into larvae that feed on small rodents and birds. They are tiny in size and have only 3 pairs of limbs, so they are sometimes confused with insects.

The photo below shows tick larvae:

After feeding, the larvae look for a place to overwinter: they mainly choose leaf litter and depressions in the bark of trees. There, in a state of diapause, small bloodsuckers wait out the winter. If the larva does not have time to feed before the onset of cold weather, it dies.

Sometimes the larvae manage to molt into nymphs before winter, but often molting also occurs only after exiting diapause. Each molt is accompanied by blood sucking.

Tick ​​nymphs differ from larvae in their larger sizes and the presence of another (fourth) pair of legs. They are able to feed on larger animals such as dogs, cats, foxes, and hares.

In the spring and summer-autumn period of the 3rd year from the beginning of the life cycle, adult individuals appear. They begin to feed immediately, or go into diapause again. The female needs nutrition primarily for the maturation of her eggs, so it is extremely important that mating occurs before feeding. Males either do not feed at all, or feed for a very short time, since they perform only the function of inseminators.

The most widespread and widespread in Russia and the CIS countries, the common forest (dog) and taiga ticks carry a number of pathogens of extremely dangerous human diseases, such as:

• various forms of tick-borne encephalitis;
• tick-borne typhus;
• Lyme disease (borreliosis);
• tularemia and some others.

On a note

The tick infects its host already during suction, when it injects saliva under the skin containing the causative agents of a particular infection. Moreover, the longer the tick is on the body, the greater the likelihood of getting sick.

Symptoms of the disease do not appear immediately: the incubation period can last up to one month. In the case of tick-borne encephalitis, the development of the disease can occur in different ways, but there are also common symptoms: more often there is a sharp increase in temperature, muscle pain and headaches. In the case of tick-borne borreliosis, a characteristic sign of infection is the appearance of the so-called migratory ring erythema - concentric rings of reddish, brown or yellow color form on the skin near the wound left after a tick bite (an example is shown in the photo below).

Prevention measures: how to protect yourself from the negative consequences of contact with ticks

On a note

Be that as it may, you should not relax either, since only correct and timely measures will minimize the likelihood of undesirable consequences.

First you need to remove the tick. This is easy to do yourself, using, for example, tweezers or special devices for removing ticks.

After removing the tick, the wound must be disinfected (can be treated with alcohol, brilliant green, iodine or hydrogen peroxide). It is recommended to wash your hands thoroughly with soap. The extracted tick should be taken for analysis to make sure it is not infected, and if necessary, take appropriate measures (for example, emergency prevention of tick-borne encephalitis consists of injections of gamma globulins).

Every year, with the arrival of spring, news about encephalitis tick bites appears in the media like front-line reports. The largest number of victims is traditionally recorded in May. The tick, which carries serious diseases, usually lives in the forest. In recent years, their numbers have increased more than 100 times, so when going into nature, do not forget to be vigilant. Now ticks can be found in a field, park area, meadow, or summer cottage.

What does an encephalitis tick look like?

The taiga tick is a small spider. Encephalitis ticks do not exist, so they are called because they carry the encephalitis virus. The main carriers are ixodid ticks. How to recognize a tick? It has a thin flat body in the form of a shield, a small head with a sharp proboscis and four pairs of limbs. Claws with suction cups on their limbs help ticks move. Ticks have a well-developed sense of smell, so they will never miss their favorite smell of sweat. Having drunk blood, the tick becomes round, the size of a match head.

Where do ixodid ticks live and when are they active?

Where do Ixodid ticks live?

More often, ixodid ticks are found in dense areas of forest overgrown with bushes, where the sun's rays do not reach. They especially love neglected forest clearings left in disarray by “black” lumberjacks.

The danger of tick attacks begins with the onset of above-zero temperatures, when the first thawed patches begin to appear, and continues until the end of September. In July their activity decreases slightly.

How a tick attacks and bites

Ticks are guided by smell; they can wait for a victim for a long time. As soon as she passes by, the spider clings to the body or clothing with its paws, and then crawls along the body in search of food, quite meticulously looking for a place for its bite. Having found tender skin, the tick digs into it, releasing an anesthetic substance along with saliva. Therefore, a person often does not feel the attached tick.

Gradually, the head completely sinks under the skin, and the abdomen swells from drinking blood. At this time, the skin feels tight. The tick can attach itself to the victim for 1-2 weeks; after eating, it flies off on its own.

How to remove a tick

A tick that has burrowed into the body must be removed immediately; the longer it remains on the skin, the more difficult it is to remove it.

How to remove an ixodid tick yourself:

• Wipe around the tick location with any vegetable (unrefined) or camphor oil. It is believed that the tick does not like these odors, so it can crawl out on its own. The oil also forms a film, which allows the bloodsucker to be cut off from oxygen;
• after 10 minutes, take tweezers and carefully unscrew the tick, rotating the tweezers counterclockwise, since the proboscis has a spiral shape. You can also make a loop out of the thread and carefully pull it up, spreading the ends apart;
• if a black dot is visible in the wound, then the proboscis remains there. It is removed with a needle like an ordinary splinter. To keep the needle sterile, it can be heated over a fire. The bite site should be lubricated with iodine.

Do not crush the tick when removing it; splashes may get on you, which can lead to infection. Ticks that you accidentally brought into the house need to be burned.

Symptoms of an encephalitis tick bite

In half of the cases, a tick bite is not accompanied by redness of the skin. Symptoms of a bite resemble those of a cold - chills, fever, withdrawal symptoms. Redness may appear at the site of the bite. If it does not go away, or the temperature rises, it is better to go to the doctor. The latent period of encephalitis sometimes lasts for 3 months. Then the disease develops sharply: severe muscle pain, nervous system disorder, etc. appear.

How to remove a tick

Consequences of a tick bite

The ixodid tick carries several natural focal infections that affect the central nervous system. The consequences of a tick bite are varied. With a favorable outcome, chronic weakness is observed for two months. In severe cases, irreversible changes may occur: paralysis of the arms, blindness, and death may also occur.

After a tick bite, you need to measure your body temperature daily for ten days.

How to fight ticks

Previously, dust (DDT) was used to kill ticks. They simply sprayed it with dust from an airplane, but then they thought that this would spoil nature, since dust does not decompose well and accumulates in plants and organisms. They also write that if dust enters the human body, it causes detrimental effects on human health. Therefore, about 40 years ago its use was banned in most countries of the world. Although in my childhood they often used dust soap, they even washed children’s hair with it to prevent lice from getting infested

How to protect yourself from tick attacks:

• Before going into the forest, tuck your pants into your socks and put on thick clothes. It is advisable that the bottom of the trousers and sleeves have elastic. A tick cannot bite through clothing.
• When you return from the forest, carefully inspect your clothes and hang them out in a non-residential area to air. Be sure to examine your body and take a shower.
• A popular way to protect yourself from ticks is to put garlic in your clothing pockets; ixodid ticks do not like its smell.
• Repellent helps a lot; you need to spray it on shoes and pants up to about the knees. But repellents quickly wear off and their effect is destroyed naturally.
• Currently, vaccination is considered the most effective protection against encephalitis, but it does not protect against tick bites. An immunoglobulin injection prevents you from contracting encephalitis, but it does not protect against borreliosis. In addition, vaccinations kill natural immunity.

“Pliers are a highly profitable business project. The more often tick bites occur, the more money there is for insurers, doctors, drug and vaccine manufacturers, pharmacists, manufacturers of protective equipment, and so on” - this opinion can often be heard, and I agree with it. Not everyone bitten by infected ticks gets sick, I was also bitten, and I simply pulled them out using the methods described above.

Are there ticks in your apartment? Did he manage to escape after you pulled him out? Did you unhook yourself from the dog’s fur and go for a walk around your home? Many questions arise. Can ticks live in an apartment, how long will they live and how to catch them?

Where to look for ticks in an apartment and how to catch them

Forest ticks can hide anywhere in an apartment. Of course, you shouldn’t look for them in foods, because they are blood-sucking insects. Most likely, he will find a secluded place where it is dark and a lot of moisture, or he will hide, not very far away, and will wait for the victim. It doesn’t matter to him who he attacks, it’s especially scary if there is a small child in the house. Home safety will definitely be at risk. It is almost impossible to catch a tick. If only what is called “live bait”, but this method is not recommended for use even by the most extreme people. You can try to attract him with a heat source, but it’s not a fact that he will fall for this trick, and you can sit in ambush for several hours in a row. It is not clear who to take for analysis if the tick escapes after being removed from the skin. There is a chance to see him and grab him, but it is negligible.

The period of activity of the forest tick begins at zero air temperature. And temperatures above twenty degrees have a depressing effect on them, the insect becomes lethargic.

Forest ticks in the apartment - what to do?

If you find a forest tick in your apartment, it can be easily destroyed by throwing it into boiling water. But what if he fell and disappeared from view? Or maybe he wasn't alone? The question arises: how long does a tick live in an apartment? Maybe the conditions are unsuitable for him, there is no fresh air and food, he will die and dry out? Not at all! This insidious insect is capable of sitting for a year without food, waiting for a victim in the most hidden corner of the home. It is believed that under unfavorable conditions they go into diapause; no tests have been carried out in an apartment, but they can go without food for several years, during which time they seem to hibernate. It has been proven that after a tick has drunk blood, it can wait ten years for the next opportunity to “snack.” It is unrealistic to check every corner of the apartment for ticks. But there is still a way out.

Forest ticks in an apartment - a set of measures to destroy them

• Go through all your clothes and wash them if possible.
• Also remove all carpets and rugs and pat them outside.
• Thoroughly vacuum the entire apartment, including the furniture.
• Buy Neostomazan at the pet store. Dilute it in water and wash the floors, going through all the nooks and crannies.
• Treat things with an anti-tick drug. Also spray on animals. For yourself, buy anti-tick cream and lubricate your skin with it.

Most often, such a problem as forest ticks in an apartment loses its relevance after just a few hours. If the tick does not attach itself within a short time, it will die, since the humidity in the apartment is not high enough for its functioning. That is, a tick can live in an apartment, but not for long. Otherwise, they would breed right in your home and would have long ago adapted to life in a person’s apartment.