Prevention of TICK BITES – SEVEN ways of protection for humans and pets

House mites are a problem for many people. They were discovered in 1964 by Japanese and Dutch scientists in dust that was collected from different houses. In patients who suffer from allergies, mites cause the most severe irritant reaction. Today there are more than 150 varieties of house ticks.

As a rule, allergies are caused by dust mites and mites found in places where bulk products are stored (flour, sugar, grain), as well as mites found in places where vegetables and fruits are stored.

For many people, dealing with ticks makes life a chore. You can avoid the problem by contacting tick exterminators. Biotriks employees will always be happy to help you in the fight against house ticks.

Content

• Risk factors for tick bites
• Prevention of tick bites (preventative protection)
• 1. IMMUNIZATION/VACCINATION
• a) for a person
• b) for pets (dogs, etc.)
• 2. PROTECTIVE CLOTHING
• a) for a person
• b) for pets
• 3. VISUAL INSPECTION
• 4. CHEMICAL PROTECTION (repellents, insectoacaricides, acaricides)
• a) for a person
• b) for pets
• 5. HEAT TREATMENT OF PRODUCTS
• 6. TREATING AREAS FROM TICKS
• 7. Insurance

Prevention of tick bites is a pressing issue today. In this material, we will consider risk factors and the main methods of preventive protection against tick bites.

Ticks in the country - preventive measures

To prevent ticks from returning to your summer cottage again and again, you need to take some preventive measures.

• Branches and last year's leaves must be removed in a timely manner, weeds must be pulled out, and the grass must be trimmed.
• It’s good to create a barrier at least a meter wide around the perimeter, add sawdust or gravel, so it will be more difficult for ticks from the neighboring area to penetrate into the garden.
• Ticks are attracted to moisture; if possible, drainage work should be carried out.
• There are plants that contain a natural insecticide and planting them will help in the fight against ticks. For example, these are Persian, Caucasian and Dalmatian daisies.

Risk factors for tick bites

Ixodid (encephalitis) ticks are the source of the most dangerous encephalitis viral infection, posing a serious danger to the health of humans and their pets. Delayed assistance can lead to death.

The main danger of ticks is the transmission of tick-borne encephalitis . Tick-borne encephalitis is a viral inflammation of the central and peripheral nervous system, leading to memory and intelligence disorders, and severe complications can result in paralysis and even death. In addition, they are carriers of relapsing tick-borne typhus , tick-borne typhus, tularemia, hemorrhagic fever, ehrlichiosis and other diseases.

Every year, up to half a million citizens of our country seek medical help for tick bites!!!!!, about 30% of them are children.

For dogs or other animals, the consequences of a tick bite are also catastrophic. So in dogs, in a latent form without treatment, tick-borne encephalitis leads to 95% mortality.

A dog tick bite can lead to dangerous viral diseases:

• piroplasmosis (destruction of hemoglobin cells with damage to all internal organs);
• encephalitis (nervous disorders leading to blindness, paralysis of the limbs);
• borreliosis or Lyme disease (inflammation of the joints, leading subsequently to chronic painful arthritis);
• bartonellosis (disorders of the nervous system, the dog loses orientation in space and cannot walk correctly);
• hepatozoonosis (purulent discharge from the eyes, muscle pain and severe fever).

How to protect yourself and your pets from tick bites? How to protect yourself from such serious consequences? How to provide emergency assistance? What does tick bite prevention include?

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

IMMUNIZATION/VACCINATION

a) for a person

The vaccine is the most effective way to protect against tick-borne encephalitis.

Vaccines currently used in humans are:

1. Klesh-E-Vac or EnceVir , manufactured in the Russian Federation based on Far Eastern strains.
2. FSME-Immun/Junior , manufactured in Austria and Germany, respectively, based on European strains of the virus;

Russian and imported vaccines are similar in structure and therefore are interchangeable; they can be changed during one vaccination: for example, administer the first dose with a Russian drug, and the second and third with an imported one.

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis takes place in several stages. There are several vaccination schedules that differ slightly in the timing of administration.

Approximate VACCINATION SCHEME for humans:

• 1 vaccination
• 2nd vaccination - after 1-3 months
• 3rd vaccination - after 12 months.
• After three years - revaccination, repeated every three years.

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis.
Examples of vaccines Immune protection against tick-borne encephalitis appears approximately two weeks after the second dose of the vaccine, regardless of which drug was administered. Failure to schedule vaccination may prevent the development of a full immune response.

The first dose is best administered in March. It is important to understand that the likelihood of being bitten by a tick is the same for a vaccinated and unvaccinated person. Immune protection is formed in more than 87% of those vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. Even if infection occurs, the disease will be much milder than in unvaccinated people, and, as a rule, without complications.

The vaccination procedure is carried out strictly according to indications and with a referral (authorization) from a doctor. Vaccination is contraindicated for any acute diseases, as well as chronic diseases in the acute stage, severe allergies, especially to egg whites, severe reactions to the previous dose of the vaccine (for example, fever above 40°C) and pregnancy

Unfortunately, in Russia more than 5-7% of Russians are vaccinated annually. In Austria, for example, more than 90% of Austrians have been vaccinated against the virus.

b) for pets (dogs, etc.)

Vaccination of a dog - prevention of tick bites
As for domestic animals, the following VACCINES are used for vaccination:

• " Nobivac Piro"
• " Eurican Piro " (Eurican Piro);
• " Pirodog " (Pirodog), etc.

Tick ​​bite prevention for pets includes the use of TICK TABLETS FOR DOG. The tablets are classified as insecticides; they differ fundamentally from each other in composition and the active substance used (fluralaner, afoxolaner, spinosad, milbemycin, sarolaner, etc.)

Among the most used today:

• «Bravecto»
• «Frontline NexgarD»
• «Nexgard Spectra»
• «Simparinka»
• " Comfortis " and others.

A little myth, but more reality!

Many people believe that house mites came to us from the bird nests of domestic birds. This hypothesis has a right to exist, because we all sleep on down pillows and cover ourselves with down blankets, which means the risk of ticks appearing in our homes is significantly high. Ticks are everywhere.

They feel great in hotels, apartments, houses, hairdressers, trains, theaters, laundries, etc. The most dangerous spreader of household mites is the vacuum cleaner. Yes, yes, don't be surprised. There is a huge amount of dust in the dust collector of a vacuum cleaner, and thanks to the heat that comes from the engine, mites can multiply there for many generations. When the vacuum cleaner is turned on, the mites are blown into the air. We all know the smell inherent in a vacuum cleaner. It is this smell that is a warning that ticks may appear in the house.

The most favorite place for ticks to live in an apartment is the bed . It is there that the person himself creates favorable living conditions for the tick. Favorable temperature of approximately 25 degrees, relative humidity, all this creates simply excellent conditions for the life and activity of ticks.

At the same time, a person spends a third of his life in bed, and no one can guarantee that there are no ticks there.

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING

a) for a person

For a short stay in nature, it is advisable to dress in light-colored clothing made from thick fabrics. Fasten the collar and cuffs, tuck the trousers into shoes/socks - minimize exposed areas of the body. A headdress is required - a cap/kerchief. For tourists, hunters, forestry workers, special protective suits “Taiga”, “Tourist” or others are used.

Special protective suits - reliable protection against tick bites

The BioStop brand produces suits combining the mechanical and chemical principles of protection. Special flounces located on the suit act as traps for ticks crawling upward. Inside the shuttlecock there is an insert impregnated with an acaricidal substance that is lethal to ticks. Under its influence, the tick dies within a few minutes and falls off the clothing.

b) for pets

For pets, protective anti-tick collars (chemical, biological or ultrasonic) are used.

The most commonly used are collars based on the chemical principle of action (with an insectoacaricidal drug applied):

• " Foresto " (Bayer, Germany);
• " Kiltix " (Bayer, Germany);
• " Scalibor " (France);
• " Beaphar " (Netherlands);
• " Bars " (Russia).

Ixodid tick: why is it dangerous for humans?

Many people believe that all ticks are dangerous and panic when they find an arachnid creature on a blade of grass, or, God forbid, on the skin.

In fact, many of the ticks that live in nature do not carry dangerous diseases.

Another common myth is that the encephalitis virus is only present in ticks. In fact, ticks are its carriers. The reservoir for the virus is animals, both wild and domestic. For example, a tick bites an infected bird, and the virus, after entering its body, multiplies and accumulates. When a tick attacks a person, the virus accumulated in the salivary glands or ovaries enters his blood. The tick itself does not experience any inconvenience from the presence of the virus and stores it in its body for a long time. The appearance of the tick is unlikely to help determine whether the tick is encephalitis or not; this requires a special laboratory examination.

It should be noted that the virus can be found not only in adults, but also in larvae and nymphs.

Tick-borne encephalitis is present in raw goat or cow milk. The boiled product does not pose any danger.

After removing a tick from the head, most people are sure that it jumped from a tree. But ixodid ticks are not able to rise above fifty centimeters above the ground. Clinging to a person, they crawl upward, choosing the warmest and most vulnerable area of ​​the body; the tick can spend several hours choosing a place to bite.

There is an opinion that a tick bite is most likely if a person is wearing white clothes. This myth was born thanks to observations of specialists collecting ticks. They attach a white rag to a stick and “mow over” the area; this method allows them to see the insect faster. And the tick's visual apparatus is primitive; in fact, it does not distinguish colors. He sits on the grass, spreads his front pair of legs apart, and then grabs everything that moves.

VISUAL INSPECTION

After being in the forest, as well as after any walks in nature, thorough self- or mutual examinations are carried out to identify ticks. It is mandatory to inspect your pet after walks. It would be a good idea to regularly check yourself and your pet during the walk. If you remove a tick in time, the likelihood of infection is significantly reduced.

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.

1. In the first place are birds, primarily sparrows, which are not averse to feasting on ticks.
2. In second place are insects such as dragonflies, ichneumon wasps, ground beetles and bugs.
3. In forests, it is better for ticks not to meet ants, especially large red forest ants, since ticks are part of their diet.
4. 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!

CHEMICAL PROTECTION (repellents, insectoacaricides, acaricides)

a) for a person

Before going out into nature, clothing and areas of the body are treated with repellents that have a repellent effect. Available in the form of aerosols and sprays for convenient use. They are universally used and help repel not only ticks, but also mosquitoes and other blood-sucking insects.

These drugs are insectoacaricides. The active ingredients used are diethyltoluamide, cypermethrin and its derivatives (alfametrin, etc.).

Tick ​​repellents for humans

Examples of repellents for protecting people are “Lethal force Antiklesch 3in1”, “DETA”, “Breeze-Antiklesch”, “Gardex Extreme”, “Tornado Antiklesch”, “Off Extreme”, “Klesh-kaput”, “Medilis Comfort”, etc. Repellents have 3-4 classes - not dangerous to humans.

In addition to them, acaricides, drugs that have a nerve-paralytic effect on ticks, can be used. They actually kill ticks, unlike repellents that repel ticks. Acaricides are used to treat areas against ticks or are applied only to the outside of clothing.

b) for pets

Drops on the withers against ticks for dogs
For pets, use insectoacaricidal drops on the withers. Examples of medications to protect pets:

• «Inspector»,
• «FrontLine»,
• «Leopard»,
• «Advantix»,
• «Prac-tic»,
• «Celandine»,
• «Beaphar»,
• «UltraGuard»,
• " Hart " et al.

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.

TREATING AREAS FROM TICKS

To prevent tick bites, it is necessary to treat park areas, summer cottages, open terraces and verandas with special acaricidal preparations based on permethrins or organophosphorus compounds. Most often, drugs containing the main component – ​​permethrin – are used against outdoor/ixodid ticks. The higher its concentration, the better.

Anti-tick preparations for treating the area penetrate the body of ticks by contact and cause disruption of the functioning of the nervous system by blocking the transmission of impulses. This leads to paralysis of the muscles, and subsequently to their death.

Among the most used drugs are the following: “MEDILIS-ZIPER”, “ALFACIN”, “DOBROHIM FOS”, “TARAN”, “FORSSIGHT”, “SIPAZ SUPER”, “Tsifoks”, “Taran”, “Acarotsid”, “From ticks Green” Belt", "Medilis Cyper", "Kon", "Sipaz Super", "Acaritox", etc.

Examples of preparations for treating an area against ticks

The area is treated throughout the spring-summer period, but it is better to start cultivating the area immediately after the snow melts. It is important to remember that the drug is stored in the soil on the grass for up to one and a half months, if there have been no heavy rains that wash it off the surface. The full effect of the treatment appears after about 3 days, so treat the area before people and animals arrive at the site.

You can carry out the treatment yourself or use the services of special sanitary services. The total number of tick treatments per season should not exceed 2-3 times.

Treating the area against ticks

Which ticks are the most dangerous in the forest?

The most dangerous and widespread tick on all continents is the ixodid tick; you can also hear other names for this species: forest tick, encephalitis tick. Usually the parasite is about a centimeter in size, but when it is full, it can become much larger than its hungry relative and reach 2.5 centimeters.

Many people wonder what a forest tick is and why it is dangerous? As soon as the tick bites through the human skin, an anesthetic is injected, which lasts for several hours. It is for this reason that sensitivity decreases and, accordingly, the tick is difficult to detect immediately. And this is dangerous, since ticks can be carriers of deadly diseases!

This is interesting: only female forest ticks drink blood; they need it in order to lay eggs.

It is also worth special attention that the forest tick does not hunt when the temperature drops to 10 degrees, even if it is night or evening. At the same time, bloodsuckers are afraid of humidity, so they will not attack when there are drops of dew on the grass. When it's hot outside, ticks are active mainly in the evening and at night. The brightest period of mite activity occurs during bud break on the birch tree.

Tick-borne typhus

Tick-borne typhus is one of several similar diseases caused by Rickettsia bacteria. The name comes from the Greek "typhos", meaning "smoky", or "foggy", which describes the state of mind of those affected by typhus. The pathogen is an obligate intracellular bacterium that cannot survive for long periods outside of living cells. Typhoid is transmitted to humans through external parasites such as lice, fleas and ticks.

Signs and symptoms begin with sudden fever, chills, headache and other flu-like symptoms, 1 to 3 weeks after infection.

Five to nine days after symptoms first appear, a rash begins to develop, usually starting on the torso and spreading to the extremities. This rash will eventually spread throughout the body, sparing the face, palms and soles.

Signs of meningoencephalitis begin simultaneously with the rash and actively develop over 2-3 weeks. Other signs of meningoencephalitis include sensitivity to light, changes in mental status (delirium), and coma. Without treatment, death can occur in 10 to 60 percent of patients, with patients over 60 years of age at greatest risk.

Ixodid borreliosis

Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is an infectious disease caused by bacteria of the Borrelia type. The most common sign of infection is an expanding area of ​​redness, known as erythema migrans, that begins at the site of the tick bite about a week after it occurred. The rash is usually not itchy and painless. About 25-50% of infected people do not show a rash at all.

Other early symptoms may include fever, headache and feeling tired. If left untreated, symptoms can develop into loss of ability to move, paresis of one or both sides of the face, joint pain, severe headaches with a stiff neck, and rapid heartbeat. Repeated episodes of joint pain and swelling may occur months to years later. Sometimes patients describe shooting pains or tingling in their arms and legs. Despite appropriate treatment, approximately 10 to 20% of people still report joint pain, memory problems and feel tired most of the time.

Lyme disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of infected ticks. Typically, the tick must bite for 36 to 48 hours to allow the bacteria to transfer to the wound. In Europe and Asia, the disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii; in other parts of the world, the types of pathogen may differ. The disease is not transmitted between people, other animals or through food.

Lyme disease was first diagnosed as a distinct disease in 1975 in Old Lyme, Connecticut, after being misdiagnosed as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

There is currently no vaccine against Lyme disease, but serious work is being done in this direction.

Description of garden mites

Ticks belong to a group of very small arachnids. The body length ranges from 0.03 mm to 1.0 cm in males, from 0.05 mm to 3.0 cm in females. The body is round, covered with setae or sometimes microscopic warts, divided into 2 parts - the cephalothorax and abdomen. There are 2 pairs of simple eyes on the head. With its piercing-sucking mouthparts, the mite pierces the tissue and sucks out plant juice. 6 pairs of appendages that act as legs help the animal move. The legs are five-membered. Hence the name - arthropods. The body color is red, brown, gray-green, yellowish-green or green and depends on the color of the main host.

Development cycle and reproduction of ticks

Adult fertilized females and eggs overwinter under the bark, in its cracks, and also in fallen leaves. In spring, females leave hibernation when the air temperature warms above +12 °C and move to the leaves and buds of plants, where they feed intensively and lay new eggs.

Autumn eggs begin a new development cycle, which from egg to adult, depending on the ambient temperature, can take from 6-7 to 20 days. Over the course of a year, ticks in enclosed spaces form up to 25 generations. In garden plots during the warm season (especially in the southern regions) they form from 6 to 10 generations. The female lives up to a month and during this time is capable of laying up to 200 eggs.

Signs of damage to leaves by gall mites. © Beentree

One generation goes through the following time stages of development:

• eggs remain viable for up to 5 years,
• the larva hatches from the egg on the third day, its life expectancy is 1 day,
• nymphs develop for 4 days and degenerate into adults, characterized by sexual dimorphism.

That is, under optimal conditions in any region, one generation takes only 8-9 days. Females are larger than the male. Each stage of tick development is accompanied by molting. As you can see, the tick's fertility is very high, and the short development cycle contributes to its rapid reproduction. Suspension of reproduction occurs only in cold winter weather and with the onset of spring it resumes and continues without interruption until the next cold snap.

What does a parasite look like?

The forest species of arachnids is small in size - from 3 to 4 mm. Most of the small body is made up of the abdomen, which has a flattened shape and can expand as it fills with blood.

Habitat - those parts of the forest where it is dark and constant humidity is fixed, and there is also undergrowth, grass, and shrubs. The tick never rises to a height exceeding half a meter.