Encephalitis ticks - description, habitat, distribution in Russia

What are ticks

The tick is a blood-sucking parasite that poses a danger to humans and animals. Their saliva may contain pathogens of dangerous diseases: encephalitis, fever, Lyme disease. Borreliosis is not typical for the territory of Russia.

It mainly affects residents of Western Europe and North America. The first case of the disease in Russia was recorded in 1991. It is caused not by a virus, but by spirochete bacteria. The size of an adult tick reaches 0.5 mm. He doesn't have wings. Mature ticks have 4 pairs of legs, babies have 3. Arthropods lack a visual organ, but their sense of smell is very well developed. They are able to smell the scent of prey at a distance of 10 meters.

Based on their body structure, they are distinguished between leathery and armored representatives. In the first, the head and chest are fused, in the second, the head is movable. Leatherbacks breathe over the entire surface of the body; in armored animals, oxygen saturation occurs through the spiracles.

Ticks are not very mobile. Over the entire period of their life, they can overcome no more than 10 meters.
They wait for the victim on blades of grass near roads. Special devices - claws and suction cups - help to grasp more firmly. Arthropods use hooks to get onto the body of the host. Reference. There is an opinion that ticks can jump.
In fact, they cling to the victim and crawl up it. They often dig into the head and neck area. Their presence becomes noticeable only after a bite. It seems that the parasites fell on the person or animal from above. Ticks do not live on trees. They cannot catch a prey there because they move poorly and cannot jump or fly. An adult drinks human blood 2-3 times during its life. Young ticks prefer rodents, lizards, and birds as a food source. Females drink a volume of blood much larger than themselves. They can suck blood for 6 days. Male ticks are less aggressive. Their goal is to find a female and mate with her.

Arthropod saliva has several functions. The first portion is spat out when the tick tries to grab onto the victim. It hardens in the air, forming a “cement secretion”. The second portion is viscous, containing many nutritional components. Some biological substances contain analgesics, others destroy blood vessels and tissues, and others kill the immune system.

How to treat subcutaneous mites

Demodex hair and facial mites are treated with local and systemic medications. The most effective is complex treatment, in which the patient is simultaneously prescribed external and systemic medications.

It is advisable to carry out the treatment process under the supervision of a cosmetologist. It is enough to visit a doctor 1-2 times a week; he will help determine the effectiveness of treatment and identify deviations, if any.

It is not necessary to buy expensive imported medicines - effective and affordable analogues are produced in Russia.

Preparations for demodicosis and associated symptoms

Treatment of subcutaneous mites on the face or scalp is carried out using drugs from different pharmacological groups:

Metronidazole is a highly active antimicrobial drug in tablets. Causes the death of the tick, having a paralytic effect. The medicine is well tolerated by patients of all ages. Side effects that occur rarely include headache, decreased appetite, and dry mouth.
Sulfur ointment - applied in a thin layer to the body or scalp for 3-4 hours. For the scalp, the ointment is diluted with warm boiled water or sterilized vegetable oil. The drug causes the death of mites, disinfects the skin, and has an exfoliating and antipruritic effect.
Metrogyl gel - applied to the affected skin 3 times a day. The drug is made on the basis of metronidazole, due to which it causes the rapid death of subcutaneous mites.
Demalan - made on the basis of metronidazole, prescribed for demodicosis on the face and eyelids. The ointment eliminates swelling, itching, inflammation, and has antibacterial and antiparasitic effects.
Purified sulfur - prescribed for oral administration between the main courses of treatment (250-500 mg with meals, 2 times a day). The product reduces the activity of subcutaneous mites, cleanses the body of toxins, and improves the function of the sebaceous glands.
Erythromycin, Colbiocin, Tetracycline - antibiotics for demodicosis (ointments, eye drops) are prescribed only in case of secondary infection. It is difficult to predict how quickly treatment for demodicosis complicated by a bacterial or fungal infection will occur. It all depends on how the patient follows all the doctor’s recommendations.
Tavegil, Suprastin - for demodicosis, antihistamines relieve itching, reduce redness and swelling.
B vitamins, vitamins C, A and E are prescribed to strengthen the immune system.

The dermatologist gives recommendations on how to treat demodex on the face on an individual basis, taking into account the specific course of the disease and the presence of concomitant pathologies. Demodectic mange on the face, uncomplicated by a bacterial or fungal infection, can be cured within 6 weeks using Metronidazole tablets and Metrogyl gel:

The first 3 weeks - 250 mg tablets 3 times a day.
The next 2 weeks - 250 mg 2 times a day.
Last week - 1 metronidazole tablet once a day.

Metrogyl gel is applied to the sore skin daily (3 times a day). Liquid tar soap is used to wash inflamed skin. The course of treatment is repeated after 30 days.

The treatment regimen for demodicosis on the eyelids is prescribed by an ophthalmologist. This may include:

Artificial tears that eliminate dry eye syndrome.
Alcohol solutions of calendula or eucalyptus. They are carefully used to treat eyelids to disinfect the skin.
Demalan ointment - it is applied 3 times a day to the eyelids to destroy mites and restore damaged tissue.
For secondary infection of the skin of the eyelids, the antibiotic Levomycetin is prescribed in drops or topically.

Treatment of demodicosis with folk remedies

Before treating demodicosis with folk remedies, it is necessary to consult with your doctor about this, which will eliminate the development of side effects.

Treatment at home is carried out using self-made ointments, herbal infusions or decoctions.

Cleansing and strengthening infusion

Ingredients:

St. John's wort;
black currant leaves;
strawberry leaves;
Melissa;
calendula;
hawthorn;
juniper;
Echinops;
sea buckthorn;
rose hip;
bird cherry;
Echinacea.

How to prepare: mix ingredients (1:1), store in a dry jar. 1 tbsp. l. pour 250 ml of boiling water over the raw materials, let it brew in a warm place for 30 minutes. Strain.

How to use: take a glass orally 3 times a day, adding a little honey and lemon juice. Use until recovery.

Result: the infusion removes toxins released by demodex from the body, strengthens local and general immunity, improves metabolic processes, and helps destroy the parasite.

Eyelid ointment for demodex

Ingredients:

castor oil - 1 tsp;
Metronidazole - 2 tablets.

How to prepare: grind the tablets into powder, mix thoroughly with castor oil.

Diet

Subcutaneous mites on the face are cured faster if a person follows a diet.

Proper nutrition plays an important role in the treatment of the disease. The diet helps cleanse the body of harmful substances, improve digestion and generally increases the body's defenses in the fight against illnesses.

Patients with demodicosis on the face may be prescribed table No. 5. It is used for liver failure. Example of a daily menu:

protein steam omelette, weak tea with milk;
rice soup, buckwheat porridge, dried fruit compote;
mashed potatoes, boiled low-fat fish, tea.

Snacks: rosehip decoction with wheat crackers, baked apples.

Where do ticks come from?

The ancestors of ticks are giant reptiles. Representatives of the Akari subclass fed on the blood of dinosaurs. Over time, the ancestors of ticks spread everywhere, and new species of arthropods formed.

Ticks prefer forests with deciduous vegetation, live in ravines, river valleys, meadows, and love areas littered with windbreaks. The population size reaches its maximum in May and remains so until the second half of June. Some ticks thrive in cool weather, so they can be found in September. In unfavorable climatic conditions, individuals die out due to depletion of nutritional reserves. The next season the numbers are restored.

Also useful to read: Tick Season

Some types of ticks have adapted so well that they even live in permafrost. Arthropods are known to parasitize penguins.

Favorable conditions for reproduction

For unhindered reproduction, parasites need favorable conditions. Moisture is very important, so the more precipitation, the more comfortable it is for them. Of course, food, so they settle closer to potential victims so that they can regularly get enough. And lastly, temperature, they cannot tolerate cold or heat, warm weather is optimal. On hot days, they hide in the thickets, where it is cool and humid.
These conditions influence the fact that in some years their numbers drop significantly, when there is little rainfall and the weather is mostly hot and sunny. But there are years when populations increase significantly, and weather conditions contribute to this.
It is also worth saying that natural conditions are the usual environment for these parasites. But unfortunately, they move from their usual environment to farms and pastures, and man himself is to blame for this. Because deforestation leads to mass migrations of insects. This situation is quite dangerous, especially for people and animals. After all, along with ticks come dangerous diseases, which means that there is a risk of epidemics.

Where did ticks come from in Russia?

Until the 30s of the 20th century, there were no ticks carrying encephalitis on the territory of Russia. Over time, the situation has changed. Adherents of conspiracy theories claim that the tick arrived in the Soviet Union thanks to the Japanese.

The first outbreaks of an unknown disease were recorded in the Far East. The virus spread among the Red Army soldiers who fought in those places. An expedition was sent to the scene of the incident. It turned out that the causative agent of the infection was the Ixodid taiga tick.

In the northeastern part of China there was a secret laboratory in which biological weapons were being developed. After the invasion of Soviet troops, activities were curtailed, but we managed to learn something. Viruses were studied within the walls of the laboratory. The carriers were rodents, insects, and mosquitoes. The Japanese knew about encephalitis, although mosquitoes were its carriers. Tick-borne encephalitis is another strain of the virus. The leader of the expedition was arrested. The information was classified.

Critics of the theory argue that ticks have always lived in the taiga, and that local peoples fear them.

Interesting! Indigenous people are resistant to encephalitis. Of all those bitten by arthropods, only 30% became ill. The Japanese probably used rodents as carriers.

Before the revolution, cases of infection were recorded in the Far East, but due to the similarity of symptoms, the disease was perceived as influenza . People suffering from encephalitis were not of interest to the state. Most of them were exiles.

Some modern scientists are of the opinion that the tick moved from west to east. Other researchers consider Siberia a breeding ground for encephalitis ticks. Today, the process of tick reproduction is uncontrollable; arthropods are spreading to new territories.

Where do infected ticks come from?

Initially, scientists associated the encephalitis virus with wild animals, but gradually the pathogenic microorganism adapted to the living conditions in the tick’s body. As scientists note, in wild animals and ticks it does not provoke the development of destructive changes in the body that encephalitis provokes in humans.

It is wild animals that serve the tick not only as a source of nutritional components, but also as a supplier of the active encephalitis virus into their body.

Where did encephalitis ticks come from - from wild animals. And as soon as the encephalitis virus enters the tick’s esophagus with the blood of a wild, infected animal, it will penetrate not only all organs and systems, but also the salivary glands, infecting new animals and humans when bitten. But only the adult individual poses a danger - the tick larvae do not fall on humans and therefore do not pose a danger to him.

Hypotheses and research - there is evidence that at the beginning of the last century, ticks infected with encephalitis were planted in the Far East by the Japanese. And they were “abandoned” as a bacteriological type of weapon - it is this region that today, according to all medical statistics, is breaking records for the number of people affected by the encephalitis virus.

In particular, the mortality rate from this disease is up to 30% of the total number of those affected. For example, in Russia these indicators vary at the level of 1–2%. But today these figures are declining and in the east they are recorded at 7–8%.

Conspiracy theories - are they weapons?

If we look at the question from a different perspective - where did ticks come from even before their total settlement in the Far East, when, according to many, they were thrown there as biological weapons by the Japanese, who were hostile to Russia?

Some representatives of the opposing camp say that the intelligence services of the time are not to blame for everything. But this version is somewhat lame - already at that time, the island of Hokkaido, which belongs to Japan, was considered the easternmost hotspot where indicators of increased infection of people with encephalitis ticks were recorded. But the mortality rate there was somewhat lower.

It is quite possible that the Japanese have learned to treat this disease, but since the beginning of this century, many scientists began to say that the Far East is the center of the spread of encephalitis. It was from its territory that the tick infected with the virus spread throughout the entire territory of Eurasia.

The third group of scientists adheres to a somewhat neutral position - ticks infected with encephalitis came to the territory of Siberia, while moving in both directions from it.

Where do ticks live: types and distribution

Representatives of the arachnid class are the oldest group of arthropods. They feel great in almost any environment: they climb into nests, burrows, and settle in plants.

The diet is based on plant debris, small arthropods, and soil fungi. Some species have become parasites. The most famous representative of the group is the ixodid tick. They transmit infection to humans.

On the territory of Russia there are 2 species of arthropods: taiga and European. Taiga ticks live in the Far East, Siberia, the Urals, and in the central European part. Ticks pose the greatest danger at the end of May-June. The European (aka canine) representative inhabits the North-West region. Ticks are most active from May to September.

The largest number of cases of infection were recorded in Siberia, Udmurtia, the Republic of Mari El, Khakassia, and Transbaikalia. Ticks are active in the Kurgan, Kemerovo, and Sverdlovsk regions.

Features of reproduction

Before considering the usual process of reproduction of ixodid ticks, it is necessary to understand viviparity. This method of reproduction refers to only two types, it consists of the following. A fertilized female bears offspring within herself; when the eggs mature, she dies. Since this happens in the fall, the offspring overwinters in the mother's body. With the arrival of spring, when it gets warmer, the egg development stage ends and larvae appear.

They appear in the mother's body and begin to gnaw their way out, thereby satisfying hunger and obtaining the necessary nutrients for development. With this method of reproduction, the offspring receives much less nutrients, especially where the eggs are laid.

Now let's look at the usual method of reproduction for ticks. In fact, the fertilization process itself is not a complicated procedure; no preparation or special conditions are needed. The male individual looks for a female, attaches itself to her body with the help of suction cups on its paws, and fertilization occurs. Speaking of males, most often they die after mating, but if after the first mating there is another female nearby, then he can fertilize her too, and only then die. But between these processes he definitely needs to get enough blood.

These parasites also have an interesting feature. The fact is that the female is capable of laying eggs without the participation of a male. In other words, in order to lay offspring, she does not have to mate at all; egg laying will happen in any case. The only difference is that during mating, the offspring will be both male and female, and without it, only female.

Where do ticks live: favorite habitats

An important criterion for tick life is high air humidity. He prefers to live in soil, thick grass, and household garbage. Interestingly, parasites avoid swampy soil and flooded areas.

Reference. The food source for arthropods is animals. Humans are not the main target for hunting. Ticks prefer small animals, cattle, and domestic animals.

Favorable conditions for living are forest edges, clearings where ferns, moss grow, deciduous forests with abundant vegetation, banks of rivers, ponds, and streams.

Ticks inhabit coniferous forests and prefer brushwood debris over vegetation.

Temperature plays an important role in the life of arthropods. The optimal temperature for activity is +5 degrees and above.

In favorable conditions, ticks multiply and their appetite increases. When the atmospheric temperature drops below 5 degrees below zero, the vital activity of ticks stops. They fall into a daze.

To avoid an unpleasant encounter with a tick, you should avoid areas with tall grass. Parasites love to lurk near roads and paths where people walk. A pine forest with dry air is a place where they cannot be found. The meadow tick is not so aggressive, and it is difficult to get infected from it.

A favorable place for arthropod hunting is tall grass. This is where they attack victims. To minimize the likelihood of contact with ticks in the garden, just mow the grass.

It is also useful to read: Prevention of tick bites

Habitats

In order to get rid of ticks, you need to know exactly where dangerous arthropods came from on your property or in your house. They live almost everywhere, preferring forest and park areas, especially with high humidity.

How to protect yourself from ticks?

The main habitats of encephalitis ticks:

forest edges;
glades;
meadows;
planting deciduous trees;
thickets of bushes;
shores of reservoirs.

The tick often appears in forests felled by windbreaks. But in coniferous forests without grass, it is almost impossible to find these arthropods, since their microclimate is not suitable for them. Parasites also avoid swampy soil and flooded areas.

Ticks appear only where any animals live, because they require blood for food. In urban environments, parasites wait for their victims in squares, park areas, on paths, paths and areas near multi-storey buildings.

Most often, the threat awaits in areas with abundant vegetation - especially where residential neighborhoods come into contact with dacha areas, forests, and cattle fields. In 90% of cases, ticks were transported to the city from rural areas or cottages.

In which regions of Russia are there no ticks?

Ticks have an extremely wide habitat. These arthropods can be found in forest and steppe areas, tall thickets of grass and shrubs, on the banks of rivers and lakes. But there are regions where ticks did not have time to reach. These include the territories of the mountainous Caucasus, Yamal, Kamchatka, Chukotka, Murmansk and Magadan regions. In these regions, not a single case of encephalitis tick bite has been reported.

There are regions of the Russian Federation in which not a single case of encephalitis tick bite has been registered.

Regions where different types of ticks live

In Russia, two types of ticks are most often found - European (dog) and taiga. They have different habitats:

European – regions in the north-west of the country;
taiga - Siberia, Far East, Ural.

The maximum number of infections with encephalitis ticks was recorded in Udmurtia, Siberia, Transbaikalia and Khakassia. These arthropods are no less active in the Sverdlovsk, Kemerovo, and Kurgan regions.

Are there ticks in the city?

When ticks are active, they move to big cities. The more green the better. Parks, recreation areas, squares, lawns are places where arthropods can hide. It is unknown how ticks get into the city, because parasites cannot fly. Every year, green recreation areas are treated with a chemical composition. However, ticks manage to survive and reappear year after year.

Important! The danger of infection occurs only if the parasite manages to inject a certain amount of saliva. If he sucks, then the likelihood of developing encephalitis is minimal. In megacities, where high-rise buildings predominate, encephalitis ticks are difficult to find.

The threat awaits in areas of abundantly planted vegetation, where residential areas come into contact with forests, cottages, and cattle fields. Small towns with one-story buildings and dense green spaces are targeted. In rural areas, ticks may live in grass near pedestrian areas. In rural areas, services do not combat ticks. Order is maintained if the population exceeds half a million people. About 90% of victims brought the tick from the suburbs or rural areas.

Differences between females and males

These parasites have a chitinous shell on their body, this is a shell that protects their body from damage. Males have such a shell covering the entire back, the body is brown. And in females the shell is much smaller and is only 1/3 of the body, they have a gray or reddish color.

Remembering such blood-sucking mosquitoes, quite often disputes arise as to who bites and who is more dangerous. Indeed, in the case of mosquitoes, only females attack. In this case, both males and females inflict bites, but it is the males who pose the greatest danger.

The fact is that when a female attacks a prey, she attaches herself for a long time until she is completely satiated. This period can last several days, which allows you to detect it on your body and take the necessary measures. In the case of males, everything is much more complicated. They deliver painless bites and get full very quickly. Having noticed a crawling parasite, few people will think that it has already bitten, much less infected with a dangerous disease. And if you consider that when infected with encephalitis, the disease progresses for a long time without any symptoms, then the person does not even suspect that he is infected with a serious disease.

How ticks move and land on humans

Arthropods tend to cling to the skin, hair on the legs and head. The exception is parasites that spread the virus through contact with infected areas of the skin. They can remain hungry (that is, without blood) for up to 3 months.

The least dangerous to humans are ear, spider, water, predatory, and barn parasites. The route of exposure to humans differs depending on what species the ticks belong to.

Scientists distinguish several groups of mites (not all of the existing ones are represented):

ixodidae;
argasaceae;
armored;
gamasaceae;
scabies;
pasture;
linen;
brown.

Ixodids initially live on animals or in grass, then move to humans. Argasidae live on the walls of houses, cling to the body of chickens, then move on to humans. Oribatid mites are carriers of worms. They reach humans with food.

Gamasid arthropods rarely parasitize humans, only with a sharp increase in population size. The scabies parasite is transmitted through personal hygiene items.

The pasture tick transmits encephalitis, plague, fever, and brucellosis. It reaches humans through domestic animals and plants. Linen mites provoke asthma and allergies, but do not bite. They live in pastel linen, furniture, dusty corners. Brown ticks migrate to humans from grass and animals.

The circulation of the virus in a natural outbreak is as follows. The tick at the larval stage chooses mice, shrews, chipmunks, and birds as victims. In the nymph stage, squirrels, hedgehogs, and hares are added to the diet. Adults have a much wider diet. It includes squirrels, hedgehogs, birds, dogs, cows, moose and, ultimately, humans.

Ixodid ticks

Ixodid tick

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.

Ticks on the grass

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.

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 preventative measure.

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 weaver;
starling;
sparrow;
drag.

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.

Reference. 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.

The life of a tick is a drama from birth to death

The tick had a difficult childhood. He grows up without a mother, because she dies, giving life to a new generation. And no wonder: she lays 1.7 thousand larvae! However, few survive to adulthood.

The tick constantly experiences pangs of hunger. How many times a day do you eat? Tick - only three times during life. Let the meals last for several days.

He was not born to fly, walk or even crawl! During its life, a tick can independently overcome a maximum of 10 meters. But he knows how to wait well. This is how he hunts: he sits on a blade of grass and waits. Sometimes for months. The tick does not see because it does not have eyes (we are considering a tick from the genus Ixodes, the main carrier of encephalitis), but it distinguishes odors. For this purpose, it has special organs on its front legs.

The tick often hunts in the grass along forest paths. It smells delicious there because people and animals are constantly walking around. But it’s usually too fast, and such “fast food” can be difficult to catch. But the tick feels warmth. And when someone stops nearby, it crawls onto its owner.

The larval tick selects small animals - mice, moles or birds. It attaches itself, drinks blood for 3–8 days, and when satisfied, falls to the ground. And then the transformation happens. The larva grows, two more legs are added to its six legs, and it becomes a nymph.

As in ancient times, a forest nymph sits in a clearing and awaits sacrifices. And the forest sacrifices nearby hares and squirrels to her. The nymph climbs into the animal's fur and dines again for 3–11 days.

Scientists call adult ticks imagoes. Imagos are looking for larger amigos: this is how a person can appear in their destiny. The latter has an average of 5–6 liters of blood. A tick can only drink a drop. And even then only if we are talking about a female, because she needs to take care of her future offspring. When saturated, it increases three times: from the initial 6 mm to 15 (take a dog tick of the genus Ixodes). Males need blood only to maintain their own life. Please note: ticks do everything possible so that a person does not even feel that he has been bitten. There is no pain, since, penetrating into the skin, the bloodsucker treats the wound with an anesthetic substance.

And here it is important to emphasize that the tick bite itself is not dangerous. Problems arise only if the bloodsucker has been infected. Tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis, or Lyme disease, typhus and relapsing tick-borne fever, piroplasmosis virus - the main list of ailments. However, it is difficult to blame a tick for anything: the disease was inherited from its previous owner or mother.

Ticks are fatalists. They do not choose their soulmate by making a list of qualities in advance: “she must be beautiful, smart, with a sense of humor.” Fate brings them together: only a couple that meets under the same owner can start a family. In love, ticks know no limits: the male, having fertilized the female, dies because he gave all his strength. The female drinks blood for about a week, turning into a lead-gray ball. Then, having mourned her dead lover, she throws herself in despair (and at the call of instinct) to the ground. There she lays larvae and also dies, exhausted.

A tick goes through its difficult life path in a maximum of eight years. In the fall, it burrows into fallen leaves and waits out the winter there, numb.

Why are ticks and their bites dangerous?

Ticks stick to the victim for a long time and can live on the body for 3-4 days. They increase in size, swell, and then fall off. Ticks suck blood from various animals, including those infected with infections. Microbes contained in the blood enter the victim's body.

Carefully! The forest tick carries encephalitis, a serious disease of the central nervous system.

Parasites can carry more than 30 types of diseases. The less time a tick spends on the body, the lower the likelihood of infection. An infected person does not always get sick. It depends on the state of the immune system.

It is also useful to read: Consequences of an encephalitis tick bite in humans

Ticks on a summer cottage

Ticks belong to the arachnid class. The most common is the common dog tick (lat. Ixodes ricinus ). The female is light brown in color and grows 2.5-4 mm in length. When saturated with blood, it can swell up to 14mm. Increasing in size, the color also changes to red-brown. Males are much smaller. They reach sizes of 1.5-2.5 mm.

The dog tick is parasitiform, and its development lasts, on average, about 3 years. Larvae and nymphs attack small mammals, rodents, reptiles and birds. Nymphs and adults parasitize larger species of mammals (including dogs and humans).

The largest concentrations of ticks are found in damp areas, in deciduous and mixed forests, especially when ferns grow more often in them. Quite often found in overgrown shrubs, meadows and pastures. As if this were not enough, more and more often we can be attacked by ticks when visiting a city park or garden.

The cause of the spread of ticks, in addition to their typical wet forest areas, is considered to be climate change (less cold winters), as well as human activity. For example, when taking a dog for a walk in the forest, we can easily introduce ticks into our garden plot.

In search of carriers, ticks migrate up the branches of bushes or grass stems. But usually they do not rise higher than a few tens of centimeters. More often , ticks attack in the garden in spring (late April - early May) and autumn (from late August to early October).

During hot and dry summers, their activity decreases because they then descend lower, seeking moisture on the surface of the earth. However, a decrease in activity does not mean that they become safe.

Protection against ticks must be remembered throughout the entire season - from spring to autumn.

Safety and protection measures against ticks

An effective measure is vaccination. It is important to get vaccinated several months before the start of the season.

Preventive measures include wearing clothing that covers as much skin as possible and hats. Shoes should fit tightly to your feet, and your wrists should also be covered. It is recommended to choose clothes in light colors, without patterns. Plain material allows you to see ticks on clothing.

Before going into the forest, you can use insect repellents. The packaging should state that the repellent is suitable for tick control.

Ticks that enter a house from the street can live up to 9 months , but they can only reproduce under certain conditions. Parasite eggs grow in the midst of plants. If there is no dense vegetation at home, offspring will not hatch. Parasites also cannot reproduce and live on pets. The home is not a typical habitat for ticks. However, after a walk you should carefully examine yourself and your children for the presence of parasites.

Anti-tick immunoglobulin is a life-saving remedy against infection. It allows you to produce antibodies in the shortest possible time.

How to protect yourself from tick bites?

Of course, it is better to avoid traveling to their habitats. On the other hand, this is not a way to give up outdoor recreation or trips to the forest. When going on an excursion or walk, refrain from walking on paths overgrown with grass, low bushes, and ferns. Never sit directly on the grass without first covering it. Remember to wear appropriate clothing. Important elements are high-top shoes, close-fitting clothing for the body with long sleeves and trouser legs (pants legs should be tucked into socks) and preferably in light colors (then it is easier to detect ticks on our clothes). You should also treat clothing and uncovered areas of the body with repellents, i.e. medications that repel ticks. After spraying the body and smearing, the preparations, as a rule, protect against mosquitoes for 7 hours and against ticks for 4 hours.