Tick sizes and features of their behavior

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Ticks belong to the class Arachnids, to the subclass Arthropods, scientists have more than 48 thousand of their species. But only a few species are parasites that carry various diseases in humans and animals. Most of them eat organic food. Like earthworms, mites play an important role in the formation of soil humus. Some species of mites harm agriculture by feeding on the sap of cultivated plants. Among some species of these arthropods, there is such a phenomenon as omovampirism, when a hungry individual feeds on the drunk blood of his fellow.

The size of ticks is very small - from 0.2 mm to 5 mm, while the size of the female is slightly larger than the size of the males. Females of only a few species can reach 3 cm in length. The branch of zoology called acarology deals with the study of ticks.

Of the variety of species in a human dwelling, one can find gamasid mites, saprophytes (house dust mites) and ixodid mites.

Gamase mites that feed on the blood of mammals can enter living quarters with rodents (rats and mice) and usually livein places where communications are supplied (in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the toilet), under the baseboards, behind the furniture.

Small house dust mites are almost impossible to see with the naked eye. In a human dwelling, they are most often found in the pile of the carpet on the floor, as well as in the upholstery of furniture, in soft toys, on clothes, in bed linen - pillows, mattresses, blankets. The food for them is the exfoliated particles of human skin.

Ixodid ticks can get into housing by attaching to human clothes or animal fur, as well as things, firewood, bouquets of flowers, etc. They feed on the blood and lymph of mammals, while the saturation process can last up to three weeks.

Ticks attack their prey during the warm season - from April to October, the greatest activity occurs in late spring - early summer. It is worth noting that the number of ticks that can infect a person with any disease, including tick-borne encephalitis, Crimean hemorrhagic fever or Lyme disease, is only 1%, i.e. 99% of tick bites are not dangerous for humans.

Ticks don't jump on their prey, they wait for it on the ground or in the grass. Once on the body, the tick does not immediately stick to the skin - up to this point it may take several hours, which means that if small ticks are noticed in time, the bite can be avoided.

Having outlined the place, the tick bites through the skin and inserts into the wound a special outgrowth of the pharynx (hypostome) covered with chitinous teeth, outwardly similarto the harpoon. That is why the tick, which increases in size as it fills with blood, is difficult to remove. This is usually done with tweezers. After removing the tick, the wound is treated with a solution of iodine or alcohol. Bandaging is not required. Whether a person has been bitten by an encephalitic tick, the size and appearance of which does not differ from a non-encephalitis one, can only be determined in the laboratory, and therefore it is necessary to contact a medical institution as soon as possible.

To protect yourself from ticks, it is necessary to take special protective measures before going to the forest - wear long-sleeved clothes, and tuck trousers into socks, wear a headdress without fail and, if possible, use tick-repellent repellents that are applied to open parts of the body and clothing. If you plan to frequently visit places where attacks by these arthropods are possible, it is best to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. When you return home, you should especially carefully examine yourself and your pet for pests, since the size of mites that have not yet attached to the skin does not allow them to be immediately detected.

Compliance with these basic safety measures can save not only he alth, but possibly life.