Ticks - where they are found, how to identify them and who they bite

Good day! There are a huge number of ticks in the world and many people know about it. Today we will talk about the topic: where ticks are found, types of bloodsuckers, when their hunting season begins and what weather is more favorable for them.

I used to always think that ticks could only be found in forests or parks. But last summer I realized that I was wrong. When I was standing on the bus, something fell from a tree on my sister. I thought it was bark, but then, looking closer, it turned out that it was a mite.

We immediately shook off and crushed the parasite. We were lucky that he was noticed in time, because he would have gotten drunk and would have had to go to the hospital. But now I know that these bloodsuckers can be found everywhere, even in the most unexpected places. Therefore, it is necessary to always be on alert in the spring-autumn period and not forget about preventive measures.

Where are ticks and their varieties found?

With the onset of warm weather, many people go out with their families or friends to the park or forest. A pleasant pastime can be ruined by a tick bite, which often leads to the development of a dangerous disease.

There are hundreds of species of ticks in nature, of which the most dangerous to humans are ixodid ticks. To minimize the likelihood of encountering this bloodsucker, you need to know the habitats of ticks, their habits and methods of protection against them.

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.

Forest ticks are small in size, reaching a length of 2-5 mm in a hungry state. Such arachnids belong to the subclass of arthropods and live almost all over the world, except Antarctica. The diversity of parasite species differs depending on the place of their life activity and the nature of their feeding.

Ixodid ticks, numbering almost 700 species, prefer to settle in damp forests, densely overgrown grassy meadows, and on low trees and shrubs.

In nature, their diet consists of plant debris, soil fungi and small arthropods, but they also love to drink the blood of animals and people. There are other types of such parasites:

gamasid, red beetles and argasid mites, which are also capable of consuming human and mammalian blood;
dust mites (saprophytes), whose life is spent in living quarters with people, prefer to feed on dead particles of the epidermis;
subcutaneous (Demodex) - live in the upper layer of the human epidermis and at the base of the hair follicles; they are tiny in size, so they can only be seen under a microscope.

Tick habitats

Optimal living conditions where ticks are found:

Regions with high humidity, at least 80%;
Slopes warmed by the sun 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.);
Most often, parasites live in coastal thickets near rivers, ponds, lakes and streams, where forest animals come to drink;
Soil surface with fallen leaves or grass clippings.

“Bloodsuckers” can settle on stumps and fallen dry trees, so a tourist should think carefully before sitting down to relax in the forest on the first stump he encounters. The most unsuitable places for ticks to live: hills, areas without grass and plants, dry undergrowth in a pine forest, etc.

What weather and climate do ticks like?

Ixodids live on almost all continents and in almost all climatic zones. They have been found even beyond the Arctic Circle, which indicates their high adaptability to the most extreme living conditions.

The largest number of species of ticks are found in tropical and subtropical forests; they love and look for places with high levels of humidity, multi-tiered vegetation and a large number of prey-feeders.

In areas with a temperate climate, ticks are also widespread.

They are found almost throughout the entire territory of Russia, from the taiga to semi-deserts. Carriers of borreliosis (Lyme disease) are found in the Krasnodar Territory, Moscow and the Moscow region.

The risk of contracting hemorrhagic fever through a bite is high in the Caucasus, Volgograd and Rostov regions. Viral encephalitis in Russia is carried by ticks mainly in the following regions: the Far East, Karelia, most regions of the Central District, Northwestern District, Volga region.

Lovers of outdoor recreation run the risk of encountering the parasite in the following places:

on forest paths;

on well-warmed and moistened forest edges and clearings;

on pastures;

on the banks of rivers and streams;

in thickets of ferns;

in city parks;

at the dacha, in the garden.

Ticks' favorite weather is humid and warm. A particularly favorable time for their reproduction is a prolonged spring, warm and rainy summer. On a dry and hot day, encountering a tick is unlikely. The bloodsucker does not tolerate direct sunlight.

Where to expect an attack

Ticks need feeders to survive. Therefore, they are located exactly where many people and animals pass. They climb to the very top of bushes or blades of grass and wait for their prey. When walking along forest roads or through coastal thickets, you should not touch or touch low-hanging branches, bushes and tall grass with your hands.

Do not sit on a litter of leaves or branches.

Ticks have no eyes. Thanks to their excellent sense of smell, they sense the approach of humans and warm-blooded animals from 10 meters away. In anticipation of their approach, the parasite extends its forelimbs to latch on.

It is on the front legs of the tick that the olfactory organs are located. Moving them from side to side, the tick understands from which side the victim is approaching and tries to grab onto it. Thanks to special hooks and suction cups at the end of the legs, the tick firmly clings to everything it touches.

Most often, the parasite sneaks into a person’s collar and attaches itself to the neck or head. A person does not feel the bite because, together with its saliva, the tick injects a substance with an analgesic effect into the bite site. Then it plunges its proboscis under the victim's skin and begins to suck blood.

The special cementing properties of saliva firmly fix it in this position. Once satisfied, the tick disappears. A well-fed tick increases in size up to a centimeter.

Among the total number of ixodid ticks, about 5% of individuals are carriers of dangerous diseases. They can cause the following serious diseases:

Tick-borne encephalitis is a life-threatening disease.
Borreliosis is a bacterial disease that, in the absence of timely treatment, leads to irreversible changes in the brain and death.
Piroplasmosis is a disease of domestic animals transmitted through tick bites.
Hemorrhagic fever.

Where do ticks hide in winter?

In winter, ticks are inactive and hide in dry forest litter, in pastures, and in barns with livestock. When the earth begins to warm up with the spring sun, the parasites awaken from hibernation. With the appearance of the first thawed patches, they climb up and begin to look for their “owner”.

The tick makes its first attempts to attach itself at the end of March - beginning of April. Precautionary measures should be taken from now on. At the beginning of spring, night frosts inhibit tick activity.

But with the advent of warmth, the parasites begin active hunting. The danger of an encephalitis tick bite remains until the end of the mating season and the female lays eggs. This is the end of spring and all summer.

The periods of tick activity depend on the climatic conditions in their habitats. In some areas they attack as soon as the air warms up to 3 degrees (for example, in Karelia).

In others, their activity begins with the onset of 15-degree heat. In different zones of Russia, ticks are found from the beginning of April to the end of September. It happened that parasites were found on hunting dogs in October and even in November.

Can ticks live on trees and fall from them?

Many people are afraid to be under trees during tick season. They believe that ticks are found on trees and fall from them onto people. Actually this is not true. Ticks do not climb trees; it is too high for them. The maximum height of bushes and thickets of grass, where they climb in search of prey, is one and a half meters.

Only adults can climb to such a height. They are the ones who hunt people and large animals.

Tick larvae and nymphs guard small mammals and rodents at a small height from the ground. However, ticks can hide on the stumps of felled trees. Therefore, you should not sit on them during forest walks.

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

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.

The first season of active “hunting” occurs in spring and early summer, after which there is a lull. During this period, the ticks have already eaten and “rest” until the beginning of August. The duration of this period depends on the weather: if the beginning of summer is cool and humid, then the “spring season” becomes longer, and if it is dry and hot, it becomes shorter. 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.

Hunting process

Forest ticks live in grass or trees, climbing to low heights and tracking down their prey. With the help of their paws, on which the olfactory organs are located, they sniff the surrounding air. They can smell the sweat of an animal or person walking along a path from a distance of 10-12 m.

Some people mistakenly believe that such parasites fall from trees in the forest onto tourists passing by.

However, in fact, they are not able to climb a great distance from the ground; usually ticks can be at a height of up to 0.5-1 m. When the “prey” approaches, they move to it, tightly grasping with suction hooks.

Then they begin to climb up and look for a place to bite, usually choosing areas of the head or neck in animals; in people, areas with thin skin and close proximity of blood vessels. Both males and females go hunting, and the latter are more voracious, because for them the blood of mammals is not just food, but also affects the possibility of successful reproduction.

Males dig into the skin, drink blood, and then quickly fall, so a person may not notice them.

But the females, sucking very tightly, sit and absorb blood for many hours and days. When the tick pierces the skin, it secretes anesthetic saliva, which glues the proboscis to the wound for better attachment.

Are there ticks in the city?

The widespread belief that city residents may not be afraid of tick bites is refuted by scientific data and statistics of victims. In every locality and even a large metropolis there are park areas, squares and areas sown with grass.

These are the places where ticks live in the summer. Scientists cannot answer the question of how they get there, but sanitary services find them there. Parasites prefer to settle not only on low bushes and trees in parks, but also on lawn grass.

However, unlike forest ticks, in large cities there are practically no individuals infected with viral infections.

But in small settlements, where green areas are located near forests, fields with livestock or summer cottages, ticks can be picked up almost on the road or next to the lawn, and the danger from them is small, but still exists.

Can ticks live in the house?

It happens that after a walk, dogs or cats bring blood-sucking parasites into the house in their fur. Often the person himself quietly brings them into the house along with bouquets of forest flowers, berries or mushrooms. If you do not carefully inspect all your clothing after returning from the forest or park, you may not notice the parasite lurking on it.

How long can ticks live in an apartment?

Ticks brought in from the street will live in the house for no more than 9 months. They reproduce only in their usual environment. In an apartment where there is no plant litter, their eggs will not develop. Ticks cannot reproduce and live fully on a cat or dog. Nevertheless, you should carefully examine yourself and your companions after each foray into nature, so as not to bring parasites into your apartment or private house.

Why are ticks and their bites dangerous?

Among the ixodid species living in the Russian Federation, 2 species pose a danger to humans:

European forest, distributed throughout Europe, except for the northernmost regions, in North Africa and the European part of Russia;

taiga tick, whose habitat is in the middle and southern taiga.

These parasites are carriers of dangerous infectious diseases: viral encephalitis, Lyme disease or borreliosis, ehrlichiosis, and some types of fevers. However, this does not mean that every tick that bites can infect a person.

According to statistics, the percentage of “bloodsuckers” who carry infections is only 1.5-5%.

However, it is impossible to externally distinguish a healthy tick from an infected one, and due to the long incubation period of such diseases, the first symptoms of the disease may appear only after 5-14 days. Regions where there are the most ticks with a high risk of disease:

Borreliosis - Moscow and Moscow region, Krasnodar region.
Dangerous areas for encephalitis are the North-West of the Russian Federation, the Volga region, Karelia, the regions of the Central District, the Far East, the most cases are registered in Vladivostok and the region.
Hemorrhagic fever – Volgograd, Rostov regions, Caucasus.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, this year you can find regions where there are no encephalitis ticks in Russia. These are the central regions of the European part, including Moscow, Tula, Kursk, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Lipetsk, Tambov, Murmansk regions, Southern and North Caucasus federal districts, Magadan region, Kamchatka Territory, Yakutia and Chukotka.

How are viral infections spread by ticks?

Ixodid ticks become carriers of infections after their larvae or nymphs drink blood from wild animals (small rodents, etc.), which are carriers of serious diseases. The encephalitis virus, first entering the stomach of the parasite from a sick rodent or other mammals, spreads throughout the body and accumulates in the salivary glands and eggs.

From an infected female, pathogens of infectious diseases are transmitted to all offspring.

Infection of a person occurs during a bite when the tick injects saliva with the virus under the skin. You should also know that the same parasite can be a carrier of several infectious diseases that reach a person as a result of its bite.

Safety and protection measures against ticks

When going on a picnic or a walk in the forest, where ticks may be located, you should remember that they can crawl only in the bottom-up direction, and select the appropriate equipment:

Clothing should be light-colored, as closed as possible, with long sleeves.

Pants should be tucked into socks or shoes, and the cuffs should fit tightly to the arms so that parasites cannot crawl closer to the body.

A hood or protective headgear is put on the head: although ticks do not fall from trees, if they fall on the hair while bending the body or on a sitting person, they can live there for some time, and then go down to the neck and attach themselves to absorb blood.

Use repellents to treat clothes that repel parasites with smell.

Avoid clearings in the forest with tall grass, bushes, fallen trees and stumps.

Choose places for a picnic where there are no ticks: with short dry grass, in a pine forest without undergrowth, etc.

After returning home, you should carefully inspect all clothing and skin for the presence of parasites.

Information about where ticks can live and how they get on human skin will be useful for all people who are going for a walk in the forest or park, to the country house or to a picnic. Compliance with all safety rules will help avoid attacks by “bloodsuckers” and possible infection with serious infectious diseases.

How to deal with forest ticks?

Many people prefer to spend their free time outdoors, in particular in the forest. It is in this case that it is necessary to turn to preventive measures that will help avoid tick bites. What should you do first to combat the parasite?

When going to the forest, you need to dress closed so that the bloodsuckers do not have the opportunity to attack you. It is better to purchase special clothing or equip yourself so that forest ticks do not have access to the skin. Pants should be tucked into shoes and the sleeves should be close to the skin.

Each walk should end with a thorough inspection of all dangerous places. In most cases, ticks are found on the neck, in the armpits, on the inside of the elbow or under the knee.

It is better to purchase a cream or aerosol that will repel ticks, and use it on everything you are going to wear, as well as exposed areas of the skin.

It will be a plus if you wear light-colored outerwear. In this case, the bloodsucker will have less chance of clinging to you, and you will have the advantage of instantly detecting it. The head must be covered, as forest ticks love to crawl under the collar.

Dry places and direct sunlight often avoid the pest. Try to stay away from dense bushes.

If you know that you will need to be in nature for a long period of time over several days, and especially in a place where there is a high probability of encountering forest ticks, get vaccinated.

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.

A misconception is the belief that all ticks are parasitic and drink blood, much less live on humans or animals. In fact, of the 48,000 species known in scientific circles today, only the order Ixodida, numbering over 900 representatives, prefers the blood of humans, warm-blooded animals, birds and even reptiles as food.

There is a separate family of tiny parasites that penetrate the skin and constantly parasitize inside the body of animals and people, but the spread and reproduction of such mites largely depend on basic hygiene. The rest of the ticks live in various types of vegetation, feed on plant components, organic matter, their relatives or their remains, posing no threat to humans.

Which ticks are dangerous to humans and pets?

People, fearing for their own health and for the well-being of their animals, should have information about those parasites that carry a real risk of developing dangerous infections. There are conditionally 2 types of such mites - permanent and temporary parasites.

Constant parasites

These tiny arachnids, burrowing under the skin of warm-blooded animals and humans, live there constantly, that is, throughout their entire life cycle, causing undeniable harm through their own vital activity.

Such diseases are usually called acariasis.

As a rule, acariasis is caused by the following permanent parasites:

Ear mites affecting the outer ear and ear canal.
Scabious itching affecting 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.

Temporary Parasites

The only order that, during its own evolution, transformed into the form of temporary parasites is Ixodida. Only two families of this order - Argasidae and Ixodidae - pose a real threat with their bites to people and domestic animals.

Because they are able to climb onto a victim, pierce the skin, drink blood and thereby provoke a number of serious problems.

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.

After saturation, the process of which can last for a week in an adult female, and several hours in a male, the bloodsucker falls off on its own. If the parasite is not detected and removed in time, it will suck blood as much as it needs.

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:

The village tick, which lives near large livestock and poultry, parasitizes them, transmitting the pathogens of borelliosis and relapsing fever to humans when biting them.
The shell mite, which most often lives in pigeon nests and parasitizes pigeons, the bite of which causes severe allergies in humans; also suspected of carrying Q fever.

These bloodsuckers are interesting to scientists because of how long the tick lives without feeding. About 10 years! During forced hunger, the parasite goes into hibernation, and all life processes slow down. But when a source of food appears, activation quickly occurs and the tick is ready for an immediate attack.

In reality, argas parasites rarely attack people, since they still prefer more familiar hosts.

With the onset of periods of hunger, they are capable of migrating over long distances on the body of the victim, attaching themselves to it. This is especially true for birds that carry ticks for several thousand kilometers.

Lifestyle

Ixodid ticks are sedentary arthropods that lead a rather monotonous life. Their main task is to first transform into an adult and then participate in the reproduction of offspring. Both for development and for reproduction, ticks need fresh blood - that’s why they attack warm-blooded people and animals.

The bloodsucker also hunts as passively as possible, taking a good position and waiting until the prey passes by. A tick can spend more than one day waiting, but it rarely goes looking for food.

Mite

Ixodid ticks

These are precisely the bloodsuckers that are most rightly feared during warm weather when hiking in nature. Today, 650 species of these parasites are known to science.

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.

Once on the body of a temporary victim, the parasite spends a long time looking for a place convenient to pierce the skin, preferring areas with thin skin and closely spaced blood vessels. For these purposes, the tick is usually most suitable for the back of the head, armpits, groin or popliteal area.

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.

In most cases, the carriers of these diseases in the northern hemisphere are two types of ixodid ticks - taiga and dog ticks.

How do Ixodid ticks reproduce?

It is curious that during its parasitic life, which lasts several years, the tick feeds only 3-4 times. Once in the larval stage, once in the nymph stage, and no more than a couple of times in adulthood.

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.

Hiking dangers

In typical natural landscapes, the largest number of parasites is observed from the last ten days of April until July. During this period, the risk of injury to a person or animal is high. Then the number of parasites decreases due to the depletion of nutrient reserves, but the danger of a bite remains until the beginning of October.

Tick activity increases in the morning and evening hours. In the midday heat and when it rains, bloodsuckers rarely hit their prey.

Are there ticks in the pine forest? In a dry forest without thickets and fallen trees, ticks are less common, but there are places for them to live. Lowlands covered with grass, thickets of dead wood, massifs of bushes with a humid environment and exposure to the sun become a haven for ticks, where they actively reproduce.

Ticks do not distinguish between the type of forest; it is important for them to find a favorable habitat. Rodents live in the dense thickets of a pine forest; tick larvae are found on them until they transition to an adult insect.

Ants are natural orderlies and mite destroyers. Therefore, there are no mites in areas where anthills are located. Ants eat ticks as soon as they emerge from the larvae.

The danger of ixodid ticks cannot be ruled out in the city. At risk are squares and parks, vacant lots overgrown with thick grass and small bushes.

The increase in infection cases is associated with the proliferation of rodents in cities, settling in garbage bins and landfills. And infection of ticks occurs from them.

Who eats ticks in nature?

Sucking parasites are the lowest link in the food chain, so they have many natural enemies. These are birds, insects, and even some plants. The reproduction rate is so high that the population size increases every year.

Birds

Ixodid arthropods, the most dangerous species for humans, live mainly in the taiga. They suck blood from birds and animals, and sometimes people. Sometimes they themselves become victims.

Not all birds eat ticks, but only some species:

Thrush.
Chicken.
Quail.
Black grouse.
Guinea fowl.
Tick-eater weaver.
Starling.
Sparrow.
Voloklyuy.

Within the city limits, sparrows actively fight ticks. During the breeding season of parasites, birds arrange a feast for themselves. Birds eat parasites during the daytime.

What is most attractive is not the tick itself, but the blood that fills its belly. Scientists believe that hungry arthropods are of little interest to birds as food.

Insects

The worst enemy of ticks in the forest is forest red ants. Arthropods avoid areas where the smell of formic acid is present. Ants are stronger, they always win a fight. As soon as a tick appears in the ant territory, the inhabitants of the colony gather and quickly destroy the parasite.

Although ticks avoid the proximity of ants, it is not always possible to escape from insects. Ants can smell the scent of prey from several meters away.

They pounce on the tick, inject poison and carry the victim to their lair. Arthropods are almost the main source of food for them. Females feed ticks to their young. In addition to ants, ticks are also eaten by other types of insects: dragonflies, bedbugs, ground beetles, and ichneumon wasps. Spiders also love to feast on bloodsucking animals.

Amphibians

The tick runs the risk of being eaten in forests, not on the banks of rivers and reservoirs - wherever amphibians live. Frogs, toads, lizards, newts, salamanders, and chameleons consider ticks as a food source.

Plants

In addition to representatives of the world of insects, arachnids, and amphibians, the natural enemies of ticks are plants. Plants do not literally eat blood-sucking parasites. They rather repel arthropods.

Tansy and chamomile behave aggressively towards ticks.

Plants produce a nerve agent. Once within the dangerous perimeter, the tick runs the risk of dying. Arthropods try not to approach dangerous plants at a distance of several kilometers.

First victims

Warm spring days are not only a time for walks in nature, barbecues and the beginning of the summer season, but also the period of greatest activity of dangerous insects. It usually lasts until the end of summer, but the peak occurs in April-June. The year before last, in many regions there was simply an abnormal invasion of ticks. This was facilitated by a fairly warm winter with little snow.

Spring also turned out to be favorable, there was a lot of greenery and sunny days. What every living thing needs. So, when going out of town, to the country house or to the park, you need to remember the simplest safety measures.

Every year, epidemiologists in most regions of the country, long before the onset of spring, begin to warn about the need to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. They have been preparing for the dangerous spring-summer season since the fall. Unfortunately, not all diseases transmitted by ticks can be vaccinated against.

Vaccines have not yet been invented for tick-borne borreliosis (TB) and Crimean hemorrhagic fever (CHF), and it is very easy to catch this infection. Judge for yourself: after the May holidays, according to Rospotrebnadzor, 39,165 people from 70 regions visited the country’s hospitals after tick bites, including 11,320 children.

And each region has its own danger. Tick-borne encephalitis can be caught almost throughout the entire territory of Crimea, in Siberia, in the North-Western District, St. Petersburg and Karelia, the Volga region, and many regions of the Central District. In the Moscow region and Moscow, as well as in the Krasnodar Territory, tick-borne borreliosis is more dangerous. In other southern regions - in the Rostov region, Volgograd region, in the Caucasus, you can catch hemorrhagic fever. So, when going on a summer vacation, you need to take this into account.

For example, during the May holidays of 2016, the highest number of tick bites was recorded in the Sverdlovsk, Kemerovo, Irkutsk, Tyumen, Irkutsk, Tomsk, Vologda, Leningrad regions, Krasnoyarsk, Altai and Primorsky territories.

11 cases of tick-borne encephalitis were registered in the Pskov, Irkutsk, Novgorod regions, Krasnoyarsk Territory, and the Republic of Khakassia and 11 cases of Crimean hemorrhagic fever in the Rostov region. There are two deaths. Most of them were infected with tick-borne borreliosis. 84 cases of ITB have been registered in the Kaliningrad, Moscow, Lipetsk, Belgorod, Kaluga, Vologda, Samara, Sverdlovsk, Irkutsk, Tyumen regions, in Udmurtia, the republics of Tatarstan, Tyva, Krasnodar and Transbaikal territories and St. Petersburg.

As experts say, despite the fact that in Moscow and the Moscow region, St. Petersburg and other large cities, forested areas are annually treated with acaricidal preparations, it is still impossible to protect all green areas. According to the Office of Rospotrebnadzor for the city of Moscow, last year ticks carrying borreliosis were found in some of the most crowded parks: in Kuzminki, Serebryany Bor, on Losiny Island, in Izmailovsky, Krylatsky, in the forest area of Zelenograd and even Ekaterininsky.

After the May holidays the year before last, 1,296 people with tick bites, 234 of them children, have already contacted medical organizations in Moscow. In the laboratory of the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, specialists examined 296 ticks and 21 of them were infected with tick-borne borreliosis. According to statistics from experts, usually 10 to 20% of the total number of insects are infected with Borrels. But tick-borne encephalitis in the Moscow region can only be caught in the Taldomsky and Dmitrovsky districts, as well as in neighboring regions - Tver, Ivanovo, Kostroma.

Diseases transmitted through tick bites

In addition to tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease, ticks can cause a number of other diseases, including:

Crimean hemorrhagic fever. This is an acute infectious disease caused by the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. Viral particles are carried by some species of ixodid ticks that live in temperate and subtropical regions, including Crimea. The incubation period for Crimean hemorrhagic fever lasts up to 14 days. The disease is characterized by skin rashes and hemorrhages. The patient should be immediately admitted to the infectious diseases department and appropriate treatment prescribed. As a rule, anti-inflammatory drugs, sulfonamides, immunoglobulin and vitamins are prescribed.

Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. This is a viral disease that affects the kidneys. The symptoms of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome are quite striking. The disease is accompanied by high fever, severe chills, pain in the lower back and muscles. About 3-5 days of the disease, characteristic skin manifestations appear in the form of hemorrhages and rashes, which cover almost the entire body. This symptom occurs because the virus attacks the blood vessels, making them brittle. Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome requires prompt hospitalization of the patient. However, there is no need to isolate the patient, since the disease is not transmitted from person to person. The main treatment for the disease is the prescription of antiviral drugs. In addition, constant monitoring of kidney function is necessary. If the patient is provided with timely and adequate medical care, the patient will fully recover. Otherwise, serious disturbances in kidney function, including death, are possible.

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis. This is an acute infectious disease caused by anaplasma - small intracellular bacteria that infect white blood cells (granulocytes). Most often, infection with anaplasma occurs through the bite of a tick, the saliva of which contains the pathogenic bacterium. The symptoms of the disease are much like the flu. The patient is also concerned about interruptions in the functioning of the heart, and the blood formula has been changed in the direction of reducing the number of leukocytes and platelets. It is impossible to determine granulocytic anaplasmosis based on symptoms alone. In the vast majority of cases, patients suffer from illness on their feet, thinking that they have a cold or flu.

Tularemia.
This is another dangerous infectious disease that is spread by ticks. The causative agent of tularemia is a small bacterium (bacillus) that is sensitive to high temperatures. At 60-65 degrees Celsius the bacterium dies. Most often, tularemia is contracted by eating contaminated foods. However, the disease is also transmitted by blood-sucking arthropods, including ticks. The symptoms of tularemia are quite striking. The disease is accompanied by high fever, chills, headaches, body aches, vomiting and nosebleeds. The main treatment comes down to the prescription of powerful antibiotic therapy aimed at destroying the pathogenic bacteria.

Monocytic ehrlichiosis. This bacterial infection, carried by some species of Ixodid ticks, mainly affects the skin, central nervous system, liver and bone marrow. To confirm the presence of ehrlichiosis, special laboratory diagnostics are performed, and if the disease is confirmed, antibiotics from the tetracycline group are prescribed.

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 possible, send the removed tick for examination to eliminate the risk of encephalitis. If there is none, destroy it by burning the parasite. If you live in a tick-infested area or are planning a trip there, vaccination is the best preventive measure.

Source

Is there a vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis?

Eat. Mandatory vaccination is required for specialists working in highly active natural foci of tick-borne encephalitis on the territory of Belarus (Belovezhskaya Pushcha National Park), as well as those who work in the forest zone - electricians who lay high-voltage power lines, geologists, biologists. Anyone can get vaccinated for a fee. To do this, you need to contact medical institutions at your place of residence. In Minsk, this can be done, for example, at the City Vaccine Prevention Center, which is located on the basis of the children's infectious diseases hospital.

It is worth thinking about vaccination in advance. In November-December, as a rule, the first vaccination is given, in the spring - the second (no later than two weeks before leaving for the danger zone). Revaccination is carried out once every three years. Every year, about 6 thousand people are vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis in Belarus.

Subscribe to us on Telegram and Viber!

Security measures

We must not forget about safety even during short walks

It is important to remember that ticks cannot move downwards, they only crawl up. Taking this rule into account, you need to select equipment:

clothing must be tight-fitting with long sleeves, in light colors;
the head must be protected with a hood or headdress;
trousers should be tucked into shoes or socks, and a jacket should be worn with thick cuffs;
the T-shirt must also be tucked in;
In the absence of cuffs, tourists use elastic bands, pulling them over the sleeves and legs.

When using gloves, the sleeves are tucked in so that there are no open areas, ticks from the glove will not get onto the sleeve or skin of the hand, and the neck should also be covered. When moving through bushes or under inclined branches, ticks land on clothing in the shoulder area and begin to make their way to the neck and face.

Clothing must be treated with a protective anti-tick spray.

Every 15–30 minutes of a forest walk, your clothes and companion are inspected.

After returning home, the body and clothing must be examined for ticks and bites. Areas of special attention: neck, axillary and popliteal cavities, inguinal folds and ears. All places on the body with delicate and thin skin are favorite places for tick bites.

For walks in nature, ventilated, illuminated clearings and forest plantations without undergrowth and shrubs are preferable.

Structural features

The tick has 4 pairs of legs and a strong shell. The female is larger than the male. It is able to stretch greatly in the back to saturate with a large volume of blood. Males attach themselves to the victim for a short time, no longer than an hour.

The male's life ends immediately after fertilization. One male individual fertilizes several females. Before laying eggs, the female needs increased blood nutrition. She leaves eggs at a height of up to half a meter above the ground. After transformation into a larva, the search for a host animal begins; the parasites will not be picked, and cattle will be the first to suffer. It is used for food for two years, which is how long it takes until an adult tick appears.

Ticks have increased vitality. They can go without food for several years.