Invasion Where did so many ticks come from, the Lenta.ru correspondent looked into it

About 50 thousand species of ticks are described in the scientific literature. They belong to the class of arachnids and are distributed throughout the world. Blood-sucking members of the genus are capable of transmitting dangerous diseases. Individuals that feed on dead organic matter often cause an allergic reaction and itching on the body. The tick size ranges from a few millimeters to 3 cm; females are always larger than males. The larvae differ in appearance by the number of legs - not 4 pairs, but 6, and the minimum body size.

Tick ​​eggs

At the end of spring or beginning of summer, the female tick, having had enough of blood, lays a clutch of 2.5-3 thousand eggs. What do tick eggs look like? The egg is a fairly large cell relative to the size of the female, consisting of cytoplasm and a nucleus, and covered with a two-layer shell, which is painted in a variety of colors. Tick ​​eggs can have completely different shapes - from round or oval, to flattened and elongated.

What do tick eggs look like?

There are quite a lot of types of ticks found in nature. This subclass of arthropods from the class of arachnids is considered the most numerous group in the class. Only now scientists know about 54,000 species of ticks.

In most cases we are talking about Ixodid ticks (lat. Ixodidae). It is they who transmit the virus with a bite, and it is they who have recently proliferated so much that every spring they cause problems for tens of thousands of people (including Russians). It is this species that has become the main problem and the main carrier of encephalitis, as well as Lyme disease, various fevers and other extremely unpleasant diseases, from which, according to doctors, hundreds of people die every year around the world.

It's quite easy to identify them:

• First of all, Ixodid ticks look like little spiders. There are various patterns on their backs, and the number of legs reaches 8 (juveniles may have 6). Ticks are very small - no more than 0.5 centimeters.
• Secondly, the tick's body is divided into two sections: body-head-legs and abdomen. The female tick is usually larger than the male.

What does the Ixodid tick look like and why is it dangerous?

Infected ticks of this species are extremely dangerous. They are capable of carrying infection and pathogens of various diseases with their bite. As a rule, this is either tick-borne encephalitis or borreliosis (Lyme disease). But at the same time, in different parts of the country, ticks can infect other diseases. The same applies to other countries, including resort ones.

This particular species (Ixodid ticks) does not hesitate to hunt humans. Using his sense of smell, he senses prey, after which he goes to meet the smell. Somewhere at the beginning of the path, without meeting her, he climbs onto the grass and waits. Ticks rarely crawl on you themselves. Most often, you or your dog catches them by walking through tall grass or touching bushes with clothing/skin or body.

How does a tick attack and where does it attach?

The fact is that the tick has quite tenacious legs, which it sticks out towards the smell - the victim. As soon as you touch it, it produces a tighter grip. Next, the tick moves along the clothing/skin until it finds a place where it can attach itself. The main places where it bites (or, more correctly, it sucks): soft tissues, delicate skin. This could be the armpits, groin area, fat folds, chest. In animals, these are open parts of the body that are not drowned in hair: muzzle, neck, belly, genitals.

When can you get ticks?

The tick active season begins with warming after winter. Most often in April, when the air temperature slowly but surely warms up to +7 and + 10 degrees

At the same time, it is important that it is not so cold at night either. Actually, if the warmth comes earlier, the tick will wake up earlier. Peak activity occurs in April-May

At this time, ticks are very, very actively looking for victims in order to attach themselves and begin reproducing.

Peak activity occurs in April-May. At this time, ticks are very, very actively looking for victims in order to attach themselves and begin reproducing.

Of course, there are types of ticks that do not pose a direct threat to humans. Bed mites, for example. They feed on the epidermis and do not drink blood. Another thing is that you may be allergic to them and their waste products. There is also a “Granary Mite” that eats grain and flour. There are also spider mites, predatory mites and ear mites, which pose a threat only in certain cases, but not to human health.

Bed (linen, dust) mite

The last bed mite on our list (not to be confused with bed bugs) lives in close proximity to a person, in his home. Their peculiarity is that they do not live on the human body.

Their natural habitat is dust accumulations, feathers or fluff in clothing or pillows. It would seem that this is the most secluded and safest place for a person, but it can also be fraught with serious danger.

When settling in an apartment or country house, bed mites cause scabies and severe irritation. Many people mistakenly believe that they bite a person, causing unpleasant symptoms in the form of itching and redness. But these animals do not come into direct contact with humans. It's all because of their bowel movements. One individual can defecate up to 20 times per day. Contact with their feces causes unpleasant effects, including asthma, itching, severe allergic reactions such as difficulty breathing or a severe runny nose.

How does a bite occur?

The head of a tick is, in fact, a well-developed oral apparatus, which has a complex structure and consists of several parts:

• The base is a capsule protected by a dense chitinous cover.
  It contains salivary glands. They work most actively during the bite and feeding.

  The tick's oral apparatus consists of a base, a proboscis with two chelicerae and two pedipalps

• The proboscis is a hard plate fixed motionlessly to the base of the oral apparatus.
  In appearance, this part looks like an elongated sting, on which there are hooks curved back in regular rows. As they move away from the base, they decrease in size and at the top take the form of short and sharp spines. When they bite, they cut through the skin.

  The tick's proboscis is covered with sharp hooks curved back

• At the base of the proboscis there are chelicerae.
  When stationary, they are covered with cases that protect them from various mechanical damage. But during a bite, this pair of blades becomes mobile, comes out of their cases and cuts through the skin along with the proboscis. Moreover, it does this at different angles and to different depths.

  The proboscis and chelicerae cut through the top layer of skin and penetrate into the tissues

• The pedipalps, located on the sides of the proboscis with chelicerae, have a segmented structure and perform the function of touch.

During a bite, the tick's mouthparts are completely immersed in the victim's body.

This happens in several stages.

First, the chelicerae cut through the top layer of skin. Despite the fact that the epidermis is a fairly durable layer, with high protection from keratin keratinized cells, this is not an obstacle to the tick’s oral apparatus. Like a surgeon deftly wielding a scalpel, chelicerae make their way to the inner layer of skin with a large number of blood vessels. This stage of the process lasts 15–20 minutes.

At the moment of a bite, the salivary glands begin to actively produce saliva, which not only wets the surface, making the advancement of the oral apparatus easier, but also contains anticoagulants that prevent blood clotting, and special anesthetic substances that block any pain in the victim during the entire process. This biological feature of ticks allows them to remain incognito on the victim’s body for quite a long time.

Simultaneously with the chelicerae, the proboscis gradually sinks deep into the tissues. This happens until this part of the oral apparatus is completely embedded in the inner layer. At the same time, the pedipalps move apart in different directions and by the end of the process are placed parallel to the skin. All this takes quite a long time. The entire suction process takes at least half an hour.

However, it must be said that the pliers are able to regulate the depth of immersion

While conducting research, scientists noticed that some types of ticks do not penetrate the victim’s tissues the entire length of the mouthparts, but only partially, and stop when they reach the branching of blood vessels. It was noted that this feature is inherent in species that often change hosts, and is a kind of protection of the chelicerae from possible mechanical damage when the skin is thick.

Indeed, in the event of an injury, the likelihood of the next meal will be in question.

Question-answer section

Sometimes difficulties arise in the process of removing spider mites from indoor plants; a specialist will tell you online how to fight them at home with household and acaricides.

Is it possible to treat a plant with Dichlorvos?

Anna Abubikerova, 34 years old, Kazan: “Is it allowed to use preparations that are not entirely suitable for processing flowers? For example, Dichlorvos."

Expert opinion Anastasia Nikolaevna Mikhailova Expert on garden insect pests, biologist, chemist.

“This method is also practiced. It belongs to the folk, but is aggressive. The principle is as follows: you need to cover the flower with a self-made paper or cardboard cone, and leave a small diameter hole in the upper part, all that remains is to spray the leaves and stem through it, and after 5 minutes the cone is removed.”

Where do these mites come from?

Varvara Ochkina, 39 years old, Tula: “Tell me how to avoid contamination of flowers? I want to understand where the pests come from.”

Expert opinion Anastasia Nikolaevna Mikhailova Expert on garden insect pests, biologist, chemist.

“There are many reasons why spider mites appear on indoor plants. The most likely possibility is that they were already on the flower when purchased, in the soil that was purchased for replanting. If you often have indoor windows open, ticks can also enter through them (in windy weather or crawl on their own from trees growing near the house. In addition, parasites can be brought home on shoes and clothes."

Spider mites are often found in the soil when purchasing a flower.

What conditions are favorable for ticks to live?

Inna Yakovenko, 30 years old, Moscow: “In what environment do parasites feel comfortable? I’m just destroying mites on plants, but at the same time I want to create unacceptable conditions for them.”

Expert opinion Anastasia Nikolaevna Mikhailova Expert on garden insect pests, biologist, chemist.

“A good option is a temperature within +18...20°C. Spider mites actively reproduce in warmer microclimates. An important point is the humidity level. Most parasites cannot tolerate exposure to moisture, so the flowers are watered and the air is humidified.”

Are flower mites dangerous to humans?

Irina Melikyan, 35 years old, Omsk: “Should I be afraid of an attack by a spider parasite? I have mites on my orchid.”

Expert opinion Anastasia Nikolaevna Mikhailova Expert on garden insect pests, biologist, chemist.

“You are worrying in vain. Such pests are not dangerous to humans; their mouthparts are designed differently than those of ixodids and other bloodsuckers. Spider parasites are not even capable of biting a person, so you can safely start treating them. Good luck!"

Spider mites do not harm humans.

What do they eat?

The nutrition of ticks depends on the types of parasites:

• Saprophages prefer to eat organic food. Organisms are beneficial and take part in the formation of humus. Some parasites spoil supplies, grains, flour;
• Dust and scabies mites consume exfoliated particles of human epidermis;
• Subcutaneous eat fatty deposits that are found in human hair follicles;
• Predators parasitize animals, humans, and plants. Blood-sucking species consume only blood. There are varieties that attack herbivorous mites and thrips.

Ticks are dangerous insects that pose a threat to human life.

Since a bite can cause serious diseases that may not always be treatable, it is imperative to study their main characteristics - structural features, species, habitats, and other important facts.

They can wait absolutely everywhere - on the street, in the forest and even at home. It’s better to prepare in advance and protect yourself from them, so you can protect yourself and your loved ones from unpleasant consequences.

Diseases carried by ticks, their danger and treatment

The top spot among tick-borne diseases is still occupied by tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis (Lyme disease). Infection with them occurs at the moment, regurgitation of saliva and eaten contents into the human blood.

In addition to encephalitis and borreliosis, there are many other dangerous diseases:

• tick-borne typhus;
• tularemia;
• relapsing fever;
• various fevers (Ku, Crimean hemorrhagic, Japanese, spotted, etc.).

Any of these diseases is very dangerous; if left untreated, death is possible. Therefore, timely detection and contacting a clinic can literally save lives.

Tick-borne encephalitis

The most “popular” of tick-borne diseases, recorded annually in all climatic zones, and especially in taiga and forest zones.

Encephalitis affects the nervous system (gray matter of the brain, peripheral nerves, motor neurons of the spinal cord), and if left untreated, leads to paralysis, loss of spatial orientation, coma and death (often within a week after the onset of the disease). The first symptoms are characterized by rapidity, appearing sharply 1.5 - 3 weeks after the bite.

For prophylaxis, an injection of immunoglobulin is administered, and antiviral drugs can also be prescribed in parallel. If obvious symptoms of encephalitis appear, the patient is prescribed interferon, antiviral immunoglobulins, vitamins, ribonuclease, and bed rest in a hospital.

Borreliosis

In the treatment of the first stage, tetracycline antibiotics are used, in the second stage - penicillin, in the third - long-acting (long-acting) penicillins. Lack of treatment leads to severe disability or death.

Fevers

They can be different, depending on the area and what type of fever the tick itself is infected with:

• Marseilles;
• Mediterranean;
• Japanese spotted;
• Astrakhan spotted;
• Israeli, etc.

Fevers are characterized by the appearance of papules with necrosis in the center at the site of the bite, rash, and shaking chills. As the diseases develop, headaches, liver enlargement, insomnia, conjunctivitis, and arthralgia appear. The rash becomes more pronounced (especially on the palms, feet, and in certain areas of the body), and is not accompanied by itching. After the rash disappears, pigmented spots remain on the skin.

Tetracycline antibiotics are used in treatment.

Acute viral disease of a two-wave course. It is severe and is accompanied by intoxication and thrombohemorrhagic syndrome.

Infection can occur not only from, but also when the blood of an infected person comes into contact with the skin. The onset is sudden, acute, with fever, chills and intoxication, which resolves after 7-9 days. After a short break, a second wave occurs with fever, rash, bleeding (nasal, uterine or gastrointestinal) and hemoptysis.

Treatment takes place in a separate box of infectious diseases hospitals or departments.

Piroplasmosis

An acute infectious disease with a severe increase in symptoms, accompanied by fever, anemia, and intoxication. The causative agents of the disease settle in blood cells - erythrocytes.

Piroplasmosis manifests itself in the form of chills and fever, adynamia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, liver enlargement, jaundice, and pallor. If left untreated, renal failure, pneumonia, sepsis, uremia develop, and ultimately death.

1. clothing should cover the entire body (it is advisable to choose a plain and light-colored one - this makes it easier to spot a tick on it);
2. It’s good if it is possible to treat clothes with acaricides (prevent their contact with the skin);
3. be sure to wear a hat;
4. mutual examinations every 15-20 minutes;
5. using tick repellents before visiting dangerous areas;
6. Upon arrival home, be sure to inspect your clothes and body (especially children and pets).
7. Get preventive vaccinations in advance.

If a tick bites

• try to pull it out (the head will remain inside);
• squeeze out a tick;
• cauterize an embedded tick or pour caustic liquids (ammonia, gasoline, etc.) into it;
• pick out the tick with a needle.

When going outdoors, it is important to always remember that a tick does not sleep, and you never know in advance whether it is infected or not

Therefore, only high-quality prevention and caution in dangerous areas can help avoid really serious health problems.

Ixodid tick in nature

Recommendations for tick treatment

Some gardeners are interested in how to deal with spider mites, because most acaricides and folk remedies are powerless against them. However, systematic work to destroy the pest always gives good results if you follow certain rules when treating bushes.

• Before processing, it is worth cutting off and burning all the most affected leaves. This will reduce the number of insects on the flower several times!
• Spider mites on indoor plants will not survive if acaricides or insectoacaricides are diluted according to the instructions. But they are sprayed not only on affected domestic crops, but also on those that grow close to them. If this is not done, the pest will move to a safe flower, survive and reproduce with the same effort, destroying indoor crops.
• First, the crops are sprayed with chemicals, and then the soil is moistened.
• Treatment with folk remedies is carried out more often than with acaricides. Do 3-4 sprays of the product 1-2 times a week. In this case, not only adult individuals are destroyed, but also young ones.

Flumite is a hormonal acaricide against spider mites on indoor plants

Important! Spider mites do not tolerate high humidity. So, as a preventive measure, you can arrange frequent spraying and watering. But such prevention is only suitable for those indoor crops for which an abundance of water is not dangerous.

But such prevention is only suitable for those indoor crops for which an abundance of water is not dangerous.

After treating crops with folk or specialized preparations, you need to thoroughly wipe the surfaces where the pot stands with vodka. It is also advisable to wash the curtains if the plant is on the windowsill. If insects are frequent guests on indoor crops, it is necessary to carry out prevention at least once every half month. For prevention, you can give the plants a shower, and wipe the leaves with soapy water and rinse

If a shower is not recommended for the flowers, make a steam bath - close the windows and doors in the bathroom, turn on boiling water and leave the plant for a quarter of an hour. It is important to disinfect trays once a week. To do this, you can at least simply wash them with dishwashing liquid or wash them with boiling water. Pots are disinfected only when replanting plants.

Pots are disinfected only when replanting plants.

By following these simple recommendations, you can quickly destroy spider mites on indoor plants.

Spider mites are a dangerous pest that can multiply quickly. It depletes plants and leads to their death. But if you detect it in time and begin to destroy it, the cultures can be saved and they will quickly recover.

Habitats of ixodid ticks

Optimal living conditions where ticks are found:

• regions with high humidity, at least 80%;
• sun-warmed slopes with thick grass and shrubs up to 1 m high;
• The main habitat of ticks is: forest edges, clearings, ravines with dense grass;
• in the shade of deciduous trees there are thickets of ferns, among low young trees (aspen, hazel, etc.);
• Parasites most often live in coastal thickets near rivers, ponds, lakes and streams, where forest animals come to drink;
• soil surface with fallen leaves or mown grass.

Ticks in nature

The most unsuitable places for ticks to live: hills, areas without grass and plants, dry undergrowth in a pine forest, etc.

Hunting season of "bloodsuckers"

The period of parasite activity begins when the soil warms up to +5-+7°C, which in central Russia occurs in April, when the first greenery appears and buds bloom on birch trees. Waking up after winter, they crawl to the surface.

Ticks are located on trees, grass, and bushes. Their numbers increase sharply by the second half of May and remain at their highest until the end of June. Activity depends on temperature and weather conditions, humidity. They do not like hot and dry air, so they go out to hunt in the morning and evening hours. On hot days they settle down in damp grass; in cloudy weather they look for drier places.

Ticks in nature

The autumn outbreak of activity, during which ticks try to get enough before wintering, begins in September and continues until the first days of November, when cold weather sets in.

Lifestyle and adaptive features that help prolong the life cycle of ticks

The life of a forest tick has several cycles of development and transition of the animal from one state to another. But here, too, everything will depend on the factors accompanying such transformation:

• How long a forest tick will live at one stage or another is determined by climatic conditions, for example, severe cold and the length of time the blood-sucking tick remains in suspended animation.
• In one season, a tick needs to change 3 hosts - potential victims of its successful hunt.

In nature, the described pests mate directly on the body of their prey. At the end of the process, the male ticks die, and the females on the ground in the so-called forest litter are engaged in the production of eggs, and in huge quantities - in the spring-summer period, an individual lays up to 2-3 thousand eggs.

Reproduction and further stages of tick development are directly related to their feeding processes:

Important! If the potential victim is not found before the cold weather, the tick goes into so-called hibernation before the onset of warm weather, and with the arrival of spring it comes out to hunt again. However, in severe winters and severe frosts, the larvae, without waiting for warmth, die. Without food, ticks at this stage of development can survive for up to 24 months, waiting for prey.

Without food, ticks at this stage of development can survive for up to 24 months, waiting for prey.

The larva, which has degenerated into a nymph, gradually develops and increases in size. To quench the thirst for blood, a slightly matured individual requires more time, about a week. Having sated, the individual transforms from the nymph state into an adult animal, ready to migrate from one victim to another to satisfy its hunger.

Endowed with sufficient endurance, adult ticks do not die from frost and hunger; with the onset of warmth, they begin to hunt animals and humans. Constantly changing so-called hosts, ticks become carriers of viruses and diseases that lead people to disability and even death.

DDT

The exact cause of the tick invasion is unknown to scientists. Two working versions failed the test. According to experts, the increase in the population of ixodid ticks was not affected in any way by the decrease in the intensity of agriculture and the corresponding interruption of the regular application of mineral fertilizers to the ecosystem, as well as the ban on burning last year’s grass in fields and around populated areas.

At a certain temperature and humidity, malicious insects show such endurance and will to win that even the “strangers” from horror films could not even dream of it. An adult tick can live in an active state and without food for more than nine months. Although the standard life cycle of ixodids is at least two years, in the absence of food or warmth, ticks enter diapause and can remain viable for up to seven or even 10 years. Eggs and adults are able to survive both drought and winter frosts.

More than 200 species of wild animals, birds, livestock, pets and, much less frequently, humans serve as donors for creatures in Russia. Under diapause conditions, ticks are practically invulnerable to special anti-tick poisons (acaricides).

Catching ticks for research

Photo: Research Institute of Disinfectology of Rospotrebnadzor

Studying ticks is not easy. In laboratory conditions, they usually show unusual lethargy, depriving the credibility of research on the effect of protective equipment. Attempts to create specialized bacterial preparations that destroy tick larvae ended in failure. A female tick, sucked on blood, lays thousands of eggs, each of which, if it manages to go through the larval and nymph stages, can turn into an adult.

The only poison that can stop ticks on a regional or national scale is dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, better known as dust or DDT. 30 years ago, the drug was banned in most countries of the world, as it decomposes very poorly and accumulates in plants and organisms.

Perhaps it was the refusal to treat natural breeding grounds of ixodid ticks with DDT that led to their current invasion.

Interesting fact. South Africa banned DDT later than other countries - in 1996. After this, the incidence of malaria immediately increased by 6.5 times. In 2001, South Africa ended its ban on DDT, choosing the lesser of two evils.

Once a tick hatches from an egg, it goes through three stages: larvae, nymphs and adults. For each transition, he must drink blood and shed his old chitinous shell

Image: Research Institute of Disinfectology of Rospotrebnadzor

How to protect yourself from large ticks? Several ways

Methods of protection against any tick-borne parasites, both small and large, are the same. Here are the most effective of them.

Vaccination

Vaccination is an excellent prevention against ticks.
In order to eliminate the risk of contracting infectious diseases from an insect tick bite, you can undergo a three-stage vaccination before the start of the season, in March-April

This is especially important for country residents, avid summer residents, lovers of fishing, outdoor picnics, mushroom and berry pickers, tourists and those who, due to their occupation, are forced to regularly visit places where ticks accumulate.

Shopping for clothes

When going to the forest on vacation, be sure to take care of the right clothes.

It should be as closed as possible: long sleeves, a protected neck, a headdress, high shoes, into which the trousers should be tucked tightly. By the way, the common belief that ticks react to light-colored clothing is wrong. These insects do not distinguish colors, so when going to the forest or to the country, feel free to wear light summer clothes.

An excellent solution is a special anti-tick suit. It effectively protects the body and is designed in such a way that no small or large tick will gain access to your skin.

Repellents

Tick ​​repellents actually reduce the likelihood of being bitten.
Today, you can buy tick repellents in specialized stores. It should be understood, however, that no repellent provides complete guarantee of protection, since it is almost impossible to apply it evenly to all areas of the body or clothing. In addition, as practice shows, not all types of ticks are afraid of such household chemicals.

Treatment of areas

Take care of your safety, order specialized treatment of the area.

If it is not difficult to avoid walks in parks and forest hikes if desired, then ticks that appear with the beginning of the spring-summer season in suburban and summer cottages turn the life of their owners into a real thriller, where danger lurks at every step for a person or animal.

In this case, it is advisable to use the help of specialists who, using hot and cold fog technologies using the latest generation of drugs safe for humans, will rid the area of ​​parasites quickly and effectively. And then neither a small and inconspicuous tick, nor the largest tick, the size of which is alarming and frankly frightens any person, will disturb your pleasure from spending time in the countryside.

Where does the encephalitis tick live?

Of all the species, only ixodid ticks choose the blood of humans, birds, and warm-blooded animals as food. This is a small arachnid, not exceeding a few millimeters when hungry. In a well-fed state, the size of the tick increases, and the female is usually larger than the male.

Dangerous diseases, such as encephalitis and borreliosis, are carried by two types of ticks: European forest ticks and taiga ticks. They live in grass and tall bushes, preferring forest areas overgrown with tall grass (7 cm and above). The lower the grass, the safer this place is for humans and animals. Also, ticks do not remain in trampled clearings or asphalt areas.

The type of forest for the ixodid tick practically does not matter; they are found in spruce, birch, and mixed forests. They only dislike coniferous forests. Encephalitis ticks also live in pastures, meadows, on roadsides and even in city squares and parks; their habitat in Russia is not limited only to forests.

Scabies is an intradermal parasite

Such mites provoke the development of acarodermatitis. They live under the skin, which means they are not giant pests.

However, compared to many microscopic parasites, such individuals are superior in length. Thus, the average body size of ticks is up to 0.5 mm. They have 8 limbs, like other arthropods. The body shape is round. Egg size is no more than 0.14 mm. Moreover, the female lays her offspring under the skin, and reproduction occurs on the surface of the outer integument.

Parasites live in the structure of the human epidermis and are attracted to blood. Grooves remain on the skin. They can most often be seen on the back of the limbs, in the armpits, between the fingers, and in the groin. Scabies is a species of the family of the same name, the order Sarcoptiform mites (superorder - Acariform mites, discussed above).

Suckers on the front legs are clearly visible

The process of laying eggs in the “passages” of human skin

Records of bloodthirstiness

The world's largest tick, registered in the Guinness Book of Records, is an ixodid tick measuring 3.6 cm. The smallest of them has a length of 0.08 mm.

The world's largest tick

The largest are female ixodid ticks (they belong to the genera Amblyomma and Hyalomma), in a well-fed state they measure up to 36 mm and are capable of laying up to 20 thousand eggs in the ground at a time. It is female individuals that are the largest among this suborder of arachnids, since fertility directly depends on the amount of blood they drink.

What do they carry?

Rospotrebnadzor warns on its website that a tiny tick bite can cause enormous harm to human health. Today in Russia, contact with these arthropods is fraught with infection by a number of viral infections. Encephalitis, Crimean hemorrhagic fever and borreliosis, although they make up the three most dangerous and common diseases caused by ticks, but in addition to them, Russians risk contracting diseases such as granulocytic anaplasmosis, Astrakhan spotted fever, babesiosis, tsutsugamushi fever, tick-borne relapsing fever, vesicular rickettsiosis, tularemia, monocytic ehrlichiosis. Galina Karganova notes that the severity of the disease, along with other subjective reasons, depends on what dose of the virus the tick managed to transmit to a person, which is directly related to the duration its suction. The sooner the blood-sucking insect is detected, the less serious the consequences for the health of the body will be.

Tick ​​bites on animals

Pets can not only get sick with all of the listed diseases transmitted by ticks, but also bring this parasite into the house.

Most often, animals suffer from piroplasmosis (babesiosis) , which is a dangerous and serious disease. Late treatment and lack of vaccination causes a lack of oxygen in the blood, as a result of which the animal dies from anemia within a few days. But even after suffering from piroplasmosis, subsequent liver disease cannot be ruled out. Characteristic symptoms are: pet apathy, vomiting, loose stools with blood.

The incubation period for infection can range from 10 to 21 days. It is impossible to cure piroplasmosis on your own. The disease responds well to treatment in the early stages, but death can occur if delayed. If you contact a doctor immediately, your pet can be cured in 2-3 days.

Signs of a tick bite on your beloved pet:

• strange behavior,
• itching and constant scratching of a certain area,
• lethargy and drowsiness,
• loss of appetite,
• lack of interest in games,
• darkened urine.

How to protect animals from attack:

• walk less often in dense grass;
• after a walk, carefully examine the pet’s body, especially the neck, ears, limbs and withers;
• Treat with acaricidal agents before a walk.

For prevention purposes, the following protective measures are suitable:

• sprays,
• shampoos,
• pills,
• drops,
• special collars
• vaccinations.

For greater reliability, you can combine protective equipment.

Tick ​​map of Russia

According to Rospotrebnadzor, in the Russian Federation, residents of 48 regions are in a potentially dangerous zone, where there is a high probability of becoming infected with viral encephalitis from ticks. Among them are the Republic of Altai and Crimea, regions of the North-Western and Central districts, Karelia, Transbaikalia, Bashkiria, Volga region, Siberia, Primorsky Krai, Leningrad and Kaliningrad regions. These territories are considered endemic, as Galina Karganova, Doctor of Biological Sciences, explains, in these territories there is a constant circulation of the virus: ticks infect animals, and they in turn infect other ticks with the virus. Therefore, in these areas, cases of human illness from arthropod bites have been recorded for several years. Residents who are at greater risk of contracting tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease) are:

• Moscow and Moscow region,
• Krasnodar Territory and Tatarstan,
• Tyva and Udmurtia,
• Trans-Baikal Territory and St. Petersburg,
• Lipetsk, Samara, Kaluga, Irkutsk, Belgorod, Vologda, Tyumen and Sverdlovsk regions.

In the valleys of the Crimea and the Caucasus, in the Volgograd and Rostov regions, in the Stavropol Territory and the Astrakhan Region, when going outdoors, it is worth remembering the risk of contracting hemorrhagic fever through ticks. Sometimes specialists record so-called pseudofoci in places where ticks carrying the infection are not usually observed. Experts associate the formation of such centers with the movement of people who, having become infected in the territory where blood-sucking ticks live, return to areas where they are absent, already carrying the virus. Since ticks are not adapted to life in a zone of low atmospheric pressure, they can very rarely be found at altitudes above 1000 meters above sea level, and intolerance to harsh climates makes the territory of Yakutia, the Yamalo-Nenets District, Vorkuta, Murmansk, Norilsk and other places located in the Arctic.

Can ticks jump and fly?

None of the tick species can fly, so there is no need to fear an attack from the air. Can ticks jump from tree branches and bushes? No, they are not capable of jumping. Their main way of attacking a victim is to cling to it. Ticks do not prefer to climb to a height above one and a half meters, but this is quite enough for them. In the event of a threat, such as a fire, the ticks simply detach from a branch or blade of grass and simply fall down. Some might call it a jump, but it's just an uncontrolled fall down.

What should I do if bitten by a tick?

If a tick is found on the skin, you should immediately go to the nearest emergency room, where first aid will be provided, and the parasite should be submitted to the laboratory to find out whether it is a carrier of diseases.

If there is no hospital nearby, then you need to, following all the rules, remove the tick yourself. The animal is on the skin for half an hour to two hours, so during this time it can be detected and removed. Under no circumstances should a tick be crushed or pulled out; only twisting it will help get rid of it.

How to remove a tick?

The most effective methods for removing ticks:

• Using ordinary tweezers or a clamp, you can remove the tick from the skin by twisting it, but without squeezing it too much;
• with a strong thread - you need to tie it in a knot as close as possible to the tick’s proboscis, and then, shaking and pulling upward, remove the animal;
• clean fingers.

After removing the animal, the wound must be disinfected with iodine or brilliant green, and the hands must be washed again with soap.

Definitely yes. If possible, you should immediately contact a specialist to remove the tick from the skin and then examine it. Any emergency room, on-duty surgeon or infectious disease specialist will do, who will perform the procedure and also reliably disinfect the bite site.

Usually, all tests can be carried out at the sanitary and epidemiological station or special epidemiology centers, the addresses of which can be precisely clarified with the ambulance. We have compiled a list of where you can submit a tick for analysis in Moscow and other cities of Russia.

Peculiarities of reproduction of ixodids

Ticks reproduce on animals while they feed. The male fertilizes the female while she drinks blood. It climbs onto the female’s abdomen and secures itself with suction cups. He needs such exercises, since the female’s genital opening, from our point of view, is located in the middle of her body. But this is from an individual who has drunk blood. Normally, the hole is located between the fourth pair of legs and in a hungry arthropod closer to the rear end of the body.

After attaching himself to the female, the male plunges his proboscis into the genital opening to enlarge it and moisten it with saliva. The process lasts several hours, during which the male ectospermatophore has time to swell and be filled with seed.

Having decided that he has worked enough on his girlfriend’s hole, the tick removes its proboscis, grabs its genital organ with its chelicerae and plunges it into the female. Ticks mate according to the principle of “whoever happens to be closest,” since in most cases the male is capable of only one sexual act. After mating, the male dies, and the female drinks the blood for a few more days.

A male can mate twice only if there is a second female nearby, and he himself has had time to drink blood before mating.

Tick ​​development and reproduction cycle