The blood-sucking tick belongs to the class Arachnids, order Ixodid. They are:
Possible habitats
- on pastures;
- in summer cottages and household plots;
- in urban green areas.
Clinging to a person, the imago penetrates under the clothes. As soon as he gets on the body, he begins to choose a place to attach himself for feeding. The search process takes several hours. With the help of chelicerae, a blood-sucking small predator bites through the skin and inserts its wrapped, serrated proboscis.
Diseases from a bite in humans
- Encephalitis. A viral disease that is characterized by damage to the brain and spinal cord. The first symptoms of the disease are elevated body temperature up to +40 ºС, reddening of the skin, nausea, constant headache, hearing loss and lack of appetite. As a result of the development of the disease, the entire nervous system therefore urgent hospitalization and treatment is necessary.
- Tularemia. An infection that affects the lymphatic system of the bitten, its skin, respiratory organs and mucous membranes. Within a week after the bite, the body temperature rises sharply, conjunctivitis appears, severe headache and mucosal hyperemia. Enlarged lymph nodes are opened with the release of pus.
- Relapsing fever. The development of an acute infectious disease manifests itself in two weeks. It is accompanied by fever and headache. An infected person loses his appetite, insomnia and general weakness appear. Eruptions of various shapes and a dark cherry papule appear on the skin. There is moderate pain in the calf muscles and joints.
- . Once in the blood, bacteria quickly spread throughout the body and settle in internal organs. This causes them to fail. The disease develops over months and years. Its main symptom is extensive erythema at the site of the bite. And if the disease is not detected in time, it will lead to malfunctions in the cardiovascular system and neurological disorders.
- Hemorrhagic fever. Acute, severe viral disease. It is accompanied by intoxication of the body and thrombohemorrhagic syndrome. During the first 7 days, the bitten person has a high temperature. After a short break, it resumes again and is accompanied by a rash and bleeding.
Almost all diseases end in full recovery. But there are cases when, with focal forms of the disease, a person remains disabled or dies. Vaccination, special clothing, the use of repellents, acaricidal treatment of the territory and timely access to doctors after a bite of ixodid ticks are the main measures to combat them.
Types of diseases in animals
Each disease affecting animals has a different incubation period. It can last from several hours to several weeks, so it is important to know the first symptoms. The stronger the immune system, the longer the incubation period of infection. Types of diseases:
To correctly diagnose, the pet must be shown to the veterinarian. An accurate diagnosis can only be made by taking a blood test.
It is worth starting the removal of the imago by treating the skin with alcohol and an oil composition. The substance will block his oxygen, which can force the bloodsucker to get out. If the pest does not come out, then after treating the skin it is worth using special tool or tweezers.
You can pull it out with a syringe. To do this, the tip of the tool is cut off evenly in the area of \u200b\u200bthe needle. The edges are treated with an oily substance for better sealing. The syringe is placed over the pest, and after a few seconds the plunger is pulled up. After that, the tick itself gets out. If his head came off, you must definitely remove it. The bleeding wound remaining after removal from the tick must be disinfected.
Actions after removing the pest
Each person reacts differently to a bite. Some tolerate it asymptomatically, while others have a severe allergic reaction, the face swells, muscle pain appears, and it becomes difficult to breathe. In such cases, the victim must be given an antihistamine and immediately call a doctor.
It will be correct to carry out therapeutic measures and diagnose a possible disease in a hospital setting. Treatment depends on the type of pathogen. The infection affects various important human organs and the consequences of a bite can be different from each other. In some cases, all body functions are quickly restored, in others, rehabilitation lasts up to 3 years, and can lead to a person's incapacity.
This group includes two families - argas (Argasidae) and proper ixodid (Ixodidae) ticks. Argas have soft, leathery integuments. They hide in the crevices of houses or host nests and attack them at night, quickly sucking out the right amount of blood. In this they are similar to bed bugs, with bites causing itching. Types of argas mites from the genus Ornithodorus, distributed throughout the world, can serve as carriers of tick-borne relapsing fever (spirochetosis).
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Ixodid ticks proper are to some extent covered with hard chitinous shields. They lie in wait for the host in nature and, having attached to it, suck blood for several days, or even weeks. Genus representatives Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus, Boophilus and Dermacentor can cause a condition called "tick paralysis" in humans and other animals; the specific cause is unknown. Species of this family carry many dangerous diseases. In humans, these include Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, tick-borne typhus, tick-borne encephalitis, tularemia; big cattle- Texas fever (piroplasmosis) and anaplasmosis; in horses - encephalomyelitis and encephalitis.
You can fight ixodid ticks with various pesticides (acaricides). Due to the danger of human infection, bloodsuckers from pets should be removed with tweezers and immediately destroyed by throwing them into kerosene or boiling water.
Ixodid ticks - carriers of pyroplasmosis in dogs
The size of ticks depends on the degree of saturation with blood, since their covers are able to stretch. The length of hungry females 6-8 mm, drunk with blood, can reach 30 mm.
Hungry mites are strongly flattened and resemble dry raisins, drunk with blood - more like a coffee bean. The body of the tick consists of a body (idiosoma) and the so-called head (gnathosoma), from below it fuses with the body, and from above and on the sides it is connected by an elastic membrane. Gnatosome organs perform the functions of searching for a place for suction, fixing on the host, and bloodsucking. The search is performed by a pair of so-called leg tentacles, the skin is cut by the sharp teeth of the movable finger of the chelicerae, and attachment is carried out using a special outgrowth (hypostome), covered on the ventral side with longitudinal rows of teeth directed backwards, with the help of which the tick anchors on the host body. It is because of these teeth that it is impossible to tear the tick away from the animal. As a rule, the trunk is torn off, and the gnathosoma remains in the wound.
The life cycle of ixodid is quite complex, like all ticks. It includes an egg and three active stages: a six-legged larva, a four-legged nymph, and a sexually mature individual. A fully fed fertilized female after a certain period of time begins to lay eggs. The number of eggs in the oviposition reaches several thousand. Eggs are laid in the soil, bedding, under stones or plant roots, etc. The larva hatched from the egg, like the nymph, female and male, goes through the stage of development, search for a host and nutrition. The female and male mate after feeding (after which the males die). The female lays eggs and also dies. Thus, a tick feeds only three times during its life - one at each phase of development. Ixodids are characterized by many days of feeding and the absorption of large portions of blood, several tens and even hundreds of times greater than their weight and volume in a hungry state.
In some species, larvae, nymphs and sexually mature mites they feed on the same animal, and only the fertilized, blood-fed female leaves the host. In others, the larva and nymph feed on one host, and sexually mature mites on the other. The most complex developmental cycle is in ticks that feed on a different host at each developmental phase. For example, ticks of the widespread species Ixodes ricinus at the larval stage drink the blood of small animals (mice, shrews, etc.), small birds looking for food on the ground, and lizards. Nymphs seek out larger mammals (hares, squirrels) and birds. Adult ticks feed on large mammals (including dogs). By the way, ixodids feed on human blood at all phases of development.
The total duration of the life cycle (from egg to egg) in the same species can vary quite widely depending on climatic conditions and the ability of the tick at all stages to fall into diapause (dormant state), and last from one to four and even seven years.
Getting on the dog, the tick does not immediately stick, but moves in search of a place for bloodsucking. Ticks are more likely to stick in the head, neck, chest, groin, in other places they are found much less frequently. Some ticks of the genus Ixodes, for example, are characterized by movement against the hair, as a result, the ticks are attached to different parts of the head (in my schnauzer, before the disease with piraplasmosis, I found a sucking tick on the nose). Having found a suitable place, the tick, as already mentioned above, cuts the skin of the animal and immerses the hypostome into the wound. The teeth of the hypostome, due to the pressure of the intracavitary fluid, move away from its ventral wall, and it acts as an anchor. At the same time, the secret of the salivary gland is secreted into the wound, quickly hardening and forming the so-called. cement case around the gnathosoma. The process of finding a place and the suction itself lasts up to two hours. At this time, infection has not yet occurred. Therefore, frequent examinations of the dog during walks will help protect it from infection. A newly attached tick is easy to pull out of the skin. If a lot of time has passed after its attachment, then it is advised to use thin tweezers, passing it between the skin and the tick (when I did this, the head always came off), or lubricate the tick with petroleum jelly (or other thick sticky mass). The fact is that ticks breathe through small holes (stigmas) located on the ventral side on the sides of the body behind the fourth pair of legs. Therefore, the tick should be lifted and the lower part of the body lubricated. After that, wait 10-15 minutes and easily pull out the tick. However, one should not be very upset if the head remains in the skin, its size is about 1 mm and the damage is limited to a slight inflammation of the skin.
dog handling in spring and autumn (the peak of the disease occurs in May - June and August - September, although cases of the disease are noted from April to the end of October, and even in December and March), acaricidal preparations, of course, significantly reduce the risk of tick attacks.
With piroplasmosis, the incubation period is one to three weeks. Symptoms of the onset of the disease: lethargy of the animal, loss of appetite, then reddish urine. Piroplasmosis is a very dangerous disease, and if the animal is not treated, it always ends in death, so at the slightest suspicion, you should consult a doctor.
Female taiga tick in the process of feeding and oviposition
1-3 - on the body of the host: respectively
3-5 days of nutrition;
4 - well-fed, just dropped from the owner after 11 days of nutrition;
5 – before completion of oviposition under natural conditions (section through the subsoil layer of the forest litter near the clump of grasses);
6 - egg after laying
Professor Shcherbak G.I.
Piroplasmosis (babesiosis)- a disease of dogs caused by protozoa (Pyroplasma canis, Babesia Canis). Piano and Galli-Valerio first described the disease in dogs in 1895 in Italy. The causative agent, entering the body of a dog through a tick bite, affects red blood cells (erythrocytes). The disease occurs 2-10 days after a dog is bitten by a tick.
Piroplasmosis has a seasonal predisposition - dogs are more likely to get sick in spring and autumn. Previously, it was believed that the spring-autumn peaks in the incidence of piroplasmosis are associated with increased activity of ticks at this time. However, later it was found that the main reason is the influence temperature regime environment directly on pathogens - Pyroplasma canis is very active at low above zero ambient temperatures (spring-autumn, especially the first days with above zero temperatures after frost and in last days plus temperature before frosts), and when the temperature rises (especially at the height of summer), Pyroplasma canis often dies while still in the body of the carrier, and the percentage of ticks infected with these protozoa decreases.
In a dog with piroplasmosis, appetite disappears, lethargy appears, the temperature rises sharply to 40-42 degrees, the mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes turn pale (sometimes turn yellow), the pulse quickens, breathing becomes frequent and difficult (in young dogs often with a groan), urine - reddish or coffee color (due to the presence of a blood pigment in it - hemoglobin), weakness of the hind limbs may be observed. In terms of its symptoms, piroplasmosis is similar to leptospirosis, hepatitis, Lyme disease, inflammatory and degenerative processes of various origins manifest themselves in the kidneys, heart, and liver. To diagnose the disease, you need to make a blood smear (from the ear) - for piroplasm and a urine test for the presence of hemoglobin in it.
It is very important to start treatment as early as possible, since the disease quickly causes degenerative changes in the liver, heart, and kidneys. To determine the degree of damage to these organs, a general, biochemical blood test is performed. In case of detection of pathological processes, therapy is carried out aimed at restoring the function of the tissues affected by the disease. As a rule, drugs are administered to the animal by drip in a veterinary clinic.
If help is not provided, the animal usually dies. With timely treatment, the prognosis is most often favorable.
After recovery to restore the level of hemoglobin destroyed by piroplasms, a dog needs a diet of products that stimulate hematopoiesis: liver (not pork), buckwheat, hematogen, apples. We also recommend using a ready-made dietary ration.
Piroplasma, the causative agent of piroplasmosis, enters the dog's body through a tick bite, therefore, especially in spring and autumn, the dog should be treated with special anti-tick agents. Now on the Ukrainian market there is already a choice of such products: BARS drops and spray (manufactured by the Russian company NVC Agrovetzashchita), FRONTLINE spray (manufactured by the French company Merial), HARTZ 4 in 1 drops (manufactured by the American company HARTZ).
After a walk, inspect the places of possible tick infestation (ears, stomach, inguinal areas), if you find a tick on your dog, it must be removed immediately. To do this, put a few drops of sunflower oil on the place of its attachment to the skin, and after 10 minutes, like a screw from a thread, unscrew it with tweezers. Caution - a detached tick head can lead to suppuration at the site of attachment.
If you removed a tick from your dog - just crawling or already attached, carefully observe it for the next 7-10 days and contact your veterinarian immediately at the first manifestations of the disease.
Varieties of ticks
Encephalitic mites - On the territory of Russia, the main carriers of tick-borne encephalitis are two types of ticks. This is taiga tick(Ixodes persulcatus) and dog tick(Ixodes ricinus). Encephalitis (ancient Greek ἐγκεφαλίτις - inflammation of the brain) - group diseases characterized by inflammation of the brain (suffix " um" indicates the inflammatory nature of the disease);
Armor pincers - (Oribatidae) - the largest group of soil mites;
In the photo you can see that the adult ixodid tick has a flattened body covered with grooves, the covers are not segmented. In the process of bloodsucking, the chitinous cover is stretched, the body significantly increases in size and its color changes: the body size of a hungry tick is from 1 to 7 mm and the color is light yellow, brown or black, after saturation, the dimensions can exceed 25 mm, and the body becomes lead- gray tint. Sometimes there is an enamel color of the pigment.
The body of the ixodid tick is divided into a proboscis, which carries mouthparts, and a torso with eight limbs. The limbs are walking, each divided into six movable segments, the last of which is represented by a tarsus with two claws and a suction cup. Well developed. The proboscis can have a different length; a proboscis is considered long, the length of which is greater than the width, for a short one, respectively, the width is greater than the length.
On a note! Depending on the size of the proboscis, ixodid ticks are divided into long and short proboscis!
Egg
The size of the egg is insignificant - about 0.5-1 mm. It has a light yellow or brownish color, a pearl tint is possible.
Larva
Nymph
The structure of the body of the nymph is close to the structure of the body of an adult. They already have four pairs of walking limbs, but the genital opening is still missing. The enamel shade of the integument is not observed.
Species and distribution
On a note! For this reason, on pastures, ixodid ticks are distributed in foci - biotopes!
Life cycle
Mating of ixodid ticks often occurs on the body of the host, during external environment extremely rare, after which the male dies. Upon completion of the saturation process, the fertilized female falls off the host's body and hides under plant debris or crawls into cracks in the soil. In shelter for one to two months, she lays eggs. The number of eggs laid at one time will depend on the species and on the portion of sucked blood. In her entire life, one female is able to lay about 15,000-20,000 eggs.
On a note! If the fertilized female remains hungry, then she will not be able to lay eggs!
- The development cycle of the ixodid tick begins in the egg. The duration of this phase is from 2 to 10 weeks, which is influenced by environmental conditions. Eggs are very sensitive to changes in humidity and air temperature - when the humidity drops to 65%, the embryo dies. If the eggs are in the water, embryonic development will slow down and resume again when they are removed from this environment.
- Further, larvae emerge from the eggs, the development of which also largely depends on the environmental conditions. At this stage of development, ixodid ticks can stay from 1 to 4 weeks. The larvae spend from 2 to 5 days on bloodsucking, and this process is mandatory for the transition to the next phase. But even in the absence of a constant source of food, they are able to live for quite a long period of time: from a couple of months to one or two years.
- Development in the nymphal phase can last from 1 to 5 weeks. Nutrition at this stage takes a slightly longer period of time and ranges from 3 to 8 days.
- The imago stage completes the cycle.
Features of biology
On a note! During the commission, along with the salivary secretion, it transmits a virus to its owner, which will certainly enter the bloodstream!
Human danger
In the territory Russian Federation There are two types of ixodid ticks that are carriers of pathogens of tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease. In this case, ticks of the genus Ixodes are dangerous: Ricinus (canine) and.
Also, the ixodid tick can provoke the development of diseases such as:
- relapsing fever;
- typhus;
- tularemia;
- paroxysmal rickettsiosis;
- hemorrhagic fever;
- Marseille fever;
- Q fever.
In this case, the virus is able to enter the body even when crushing an infected tick. For this reason, trying to destroy an adult with bare hands is highly discouraged. But here you should know that not always the bite of an ixodid tick will turn into a disease. People with high levels of interferon and those who have been vaccinated are excluded from the risk group.
Animal danger
They can provoke the development of such serious diseases as piroplasmosis, helminthiasis, as well as various bacterial infections. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the dog itself does not feel the bite, and therefore it is not possible to correct the situation immediately until it worsens. An allergic reaction may be the only symptom. If the animal does not have such a tendency, then most likely the bloodsucker will go unnoticed. And the further it goes deep into the skin, the larger its size becomes and the more rapidly the risk of infection increases.
To combat ixodid ticks, it is customary to use pesticides and insecticides. These funds may have a different principle of action and form of release.
Acaricides
- "Biban" - based on diethyltoluamide. The drug can be applied to the body, clothes, curtains and mosquito nets. When using, care should be taken to avoid getting the product on the mucous membranes and inside.
- "Gardex" - the active substance exhibits a paralyzing effect, and for this, it is enough for the tick to come into contact with the treated clothing. This remedy is not applied to open areas of the skin. Aerosol "Gardeks" works for a long time and provides protection against bloodsuckers for two weeks.
- "Cifox" - this tool is available in the form of an emulsion based on cypermethrin. It shows high efficiency in the destruction of blood-sucking individuals. It does not show a deterrent effect. When applied to clothing provides protection for two weeks, in the house - for 2-3 months.
Industrial animal protection products
The fight against ixodid ticks in animals is carried out using means that have contact activity. These include:
- "Bars" - drops on the withers, spray;
- "Butox" - an emulsifying concentrate, which can be processed by bathing the animal and spraying;
- "Neostomozan" - used in breeding for bathing, wetting or spraying animals;
- "Dana" spray and drops on the withers;
- "Demos-Lux" is a zoo shampoo, and it is possible to use it not only for adult animals, but also for kittens and puppies.
In general, in order to avoid the troubles associated with the attack of ixodid ticks, it is necessary to carry out simple prevention. First of all, it is associated with the use of repellents that will scare away bloodsuckers while walking on fresh air. If you live in a private house or spend the summer in a suburban area, then take care of the timely cleaning of the territory from excess vegetation and dead wood. Plus, it is advisable to regularly inspect the body of your pet, ideally after each visit to the street. If a tick has been found, then it should be removed very carefully so as not to leave the head under the skin. In the event of a deterioration in the health of the animal, it should be immediately taken to a veterinary clinic.
Development life cycle
The development cycle of the ixodid tick consists of the following stages:
- egg;
- larva;
- nymph;
- mature individual.
In the spring, the female mite lays up to several thousand eggs in the soil, foliage, under the roots of plants, and then dies, low humidity is detrimental to them. Egg size up to 0.5 mm. In the event of adverse conditions, the individual does not develop. The duration of this stage is up to 10 weeks.
In summer, larvae emerge from the eggs, up to 1 mm in size. Since the main condition for further development for them is the availability of nutrients, at this stage, ixodid ticks are looking for the first owner. They are most often served by rodents, birds. The larvae feed on blood for several days, after which they fall off and end up on the ground. Under favorable conditions, after 4 weeks, the tick passes into the nymph stage; so she hibernates. A hungry larva lives up to 2 years, but its life cycle is no longer subject to further development.
In the spring, in search of food, the nymph becomes active, finds a second host, which can be a rodent, a pet or a person. Outwardly, it is already beginning to resemble an adult, but smaller. The stage lasts about a month. From this time, the tick feeds for up to 8 days, absorbing large volumes of blood and increasing its body weight by 20-100 times.
If adult ticks fail to find a host in autumn, they overwinter in fallen leaves, where they live until spring. After mating, the mature female hibernates, lays eggs, and dies. In ixodid ticks, parthenogenesis is possible - development from an unfertilized egg; resulting in females.
The life cycle can have a different duration - from 1 to 4-7 years, elongation is associated with adverse conditions environment, forcing the tick to remain dormant for several years.
How to understand that a tick has bitten
The bite itself is painless and often invisible, but may be accompanied by a local allergic reaction or general somatic symptoms.
- Redness.
- Puffiness.
- Soreness.
If such a rash is found on the skin, it is necessary to carefully consider your well-being and measure body temperature for a week in order to exclude the development of an infectious disease.
The severity of the signs depends on the body's tendency to allergies, the general initial condition, and age. The most vulnerable to ixodid tick bites are children, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems. It is worth paying attention to the following manifestations of the disease:
- temperature increase;
- general weakness;
- heart palpitations;
- pain in joints, muscles;
- enlargement of local lymph nodes;
- lethargy, drowsiness;
- photophobia.
These symptoms are reminiscent of the initial manifestations infectious diseases(like SARS), but may also indicate the ingestion of ixodid tick venom into the body. It is worth noting that in rare cases, the state of health may become worse the next day, when general neurological symptoms join:
- headaches;
- dizziness;
- painful nausea;
- labored breathing;
- hallucinations.
The detected ixodid tick must be taken to the sanitary service, even if the victim feels satisfactory. Early diagnosis helps to start preventive therapy in time, which allows you to save health and life.
Pets can also suffer from these blood-sucking arachnids, so you should carefully examine the animals after a walk. So ixodid ticks in cats can be found: in the perineum, anus, on the neck, behind the ears.
If there are suspicions of a bite, while it was not possible to detect the aggressor, it is necessary to conduct repeated examinations at intervals of 2-3 days, since the tick that has drunk blood will become larger and more noticeable.
Measures taken when a tick is detected
If a tick is found, it is necessary to urgently contact the emergency room or carefully remove it yourself and deliver it to the SES.
There are various ways to extract at home, but not all of them are safe.
There are special devices for removing the tick, in their absence, you can try to get by with improvised means, such as tweezers, thread.
How to remove an ixodid tick with a thread:
- Roll up a loop of thread.
- Gently throw it over the tick, trying to tie a knot closer to the proboscis.
- Slowly swinging and periodically stopping, unscrew the bloodsucker, thereby giving the ixodid tick the opportunity to unhook itself.
- Put it in a glass jar on a piece of cotton wool, close the lid.
- Label the jar with a label indicating the data of the victim, the date and place of detection of the tick.
- Examine the bite site to make sure that no tick fragments remain under the skin, then wash with soap and water and treat with an antiseptic solution (iodine, alcohol).
Tweezer use:
- Clean the tweezers with alcohol.
- Grab the tick as close to the bite as possible, as it can be crushed if held incorrectly.
- Pull towards yourself, rotating the tick around its axis, as a rule, you have to make up to three turns.
- Treat the bite site, put the tick in a jar, mark it and take it to the SES.
Exist alternative way removal of the ixodid tick with a syringe. The principle of operation is based on the creation of negative pressure in the syringe, due to which the tick is pushed out. A small syringe (insulin) is best suited, from which a piece of a cylinder with a needle is carefully cut off. Having firmly pressed the resulting device to the skin, it is necessary to pull the piston towards you.
Proper removal of the tick and storage during transportation will allow it to be delivered alive for examination, which is of great importance in the diagnosis of borreliosis (Lyme disease).
What is dangerous ixodid tick bite
It is important to understand what danger a meeting with this arachnid represents for a person or animal. Ticks carry pathogens that are transmissible:
- tick-borne encephalitis;
- borreliosis;
- tularemia;
- typhus, relapsing fever;
- piroplasmosis;
- rickettsiosis.
Tick-borne encephalitis can be suspected if, after contact with the pathogen, the following signs appear: a sharp increase in body temperature, headache, pain in the eyeballs, muscles, joints, lethargy, lethargy, impaired consciousness, meningeal symptoms are possible. The result can be persistent paresis, paralysis, episindrome. Fighting the disease and its consequences is extremely difficult. Mortality from tick-borne encephalitis is high.
What is the danger of the microorganism that causes borreliosis? The disease can occur not only with a bite, but also with crushing the fingers of an ixodid tick. It is characterized by a staged course: at first, a clinic typical of viral infections comes to the fore: hyperthermia, pain in muscles, joints, characteristic migratory tick-borne erythema is found on the skin (it has an annular shape, the surface is hot to the touch, itching is possible), then neurological and cardiac symptoms (meningeal manifestations, pericarditis, myocarditis). With a longer course of the disease, large joints are affected. Lyme disease tends to become chronic, the clinical picture is represented by the phenomena of arthritis, osteoporosis.
General Precautions
IMPORTANT! Preventive vaccination will protect against tick-borne encephalitis.
Ticks are tiny insects that, despite their size, terrify city dwellers and dislike summer walks among the greenery.
Is the fear of forest bloodsuckers justified or exaggerated?
Appearance of the insect
The shape of the body of larvae and nymphs, and adults is flat, oval with a slight point. Color yellowish brown to black. The chitinous cover is designed in such a way that it is impossible to crush, break or break it, however, it stretches well and becomes yellowish or grayish when filled. The female and male adults differ in the size of the shield. In the female, it is shorter, which is due to physiology.
The eggs of ixodid ticks are oval, brown-brown, shiny, hard, up to half a millimeter in size. In other phases, insects are very similar in appearance and form. The differences are not pronounced. The larva has three pairs of legs, no genital opening. The nymph has four pairs of legs and peritherms. Imago - four pairs of legs, peritherms, pore fields and genital opening in females.
Life cycle
The development of ixodid ticks, their life cycle includes four stages - egg, larva, nymph and adult. The last three have a single meal, which is the completion of the cycle and the transition to the next stage.
The female hunts for a warm-blooded animal, the so-called host, in order to feed on blood and lay eggs. The purpose of life is to leave offspring.
Ideal Hunters
Nature arranged it so that males are engaged in hunting for females, and females for warm-blooded mammals. Fertilization is also possible outside the host, although this is a fairly rare case. The male imago may die hungry and not fertilize the female.
To reproduce viable offspring, the female must receive food. If you look at the behavior of these insects, it is obvious that their sense organs are designed in such a way as to be able to smell the owner in time and not miss it. Both males and females are tuned primarily to the search for a warm-blooded mammal. Unlike other representatives of wildlife, they do not leave marks on trees or bushes, do not make inviting sounds, do not change color and behavior in order to create a pair and produce offspring. Ixodid ticks track the host and jump on it. This is their main goal and the successful completion of the cycle. An animal for a tick is food, warm food that smells delicious. Blood is drunk, as a rule, by a larva, a nymph and an adult female. The task of the male is to fertilize it, and the female needs blood to form eggs. Having satisfied the instinct of reproduction, the male dies, and the female finds the owner, feeds and lays eggs. Ixodid ticks can suck blood for up to 15 days. At this time, their body increases in size from one to three millimeters in a hungry state to 15-30 millimeters by the end of the meal. A well-fed and fertilized female tick leaves the host to lay eggs. Of the numerous, several tens of thousands of offspring eggs, only a few survive. Eggs die from changes in air temperature, when humidity is less than 65%, and also become the prey of other participants in the food chain. After laying eggs, the female dies.
I must say that female ixodid ticks sometimes lay eggs that are not fertilized by the male. In this case, only females are born. This is how nature controls the population and protects it from extinction.
Diseases and their prevention
Ixodid ticks are carriers of diseases dangerous to humans and animals. The most common and dangerous for humans are tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis, in particular, Lyme disease. What else is dangerous ixodid ticks? Diseases of hemorrhagic fevers, tularemia, typhus, granulocytic anaplasmosis, babesiosis and others often have the character of epidemics. Pets are at risk of contracting tick-borne piroplasmosis. Prevention of tick-borne infections is the task of the entire state as a whole and of each individual in particular. Vigilance and foresight in this matter is important at all levels. The fight against ixodid ticks is a whole range of measures. Among them - the processing of territories, that is, pastures for livestock, places for walking dogs, forest and park areas, the organization of vaccinations and timely diagnosis, educational work among the population.
In order not to get infected, a person should familiarize himself with the map of endemic activity of ticks before going out into nature, get vaccinated, stock up on repellents, acaricides and purchase good protective clothing.
General Precautions
Active ixodid ticks are located on bushes at a height of 30-40 cm to one and a half meters. They react to smell and temperature. Therefore, it is not so difficult for a person to protect themselves from them. Usually they jump at the moment when he sat down or unbuttoned his clothes. Ticks, despite the seemingly speaking name, do not know how to cling to fabric and do not strive. Their paws have hooks and suction cups that come into play when they come into contact with the living flesh or fur of a warm-blooded creature. They are very easy to shake off. They try to get closer to the skin, to the body. They find a convenient place there, pierce it with a proboscis and begin to suck out blood. From here, well-known recommendations follow: tuck trousers into socks, put on a hood, scarf or hat on your head. Also cover the neck with a high collar or scarf. To carry out physiological functions not in a windbreak under the bushes, but in an open place, although this is very inconvenient. Clothing should not be dirty, as the smell of sweat and skin secretions attracts them. After each trip, it is advisable to wash clothes with washing powder. It is much easier for a person to avoid a tick bite than an animal.
Piroplasmosis
Ixodid ticks of animals are no different from those that prey on humans. The danger is not the type of tick, but the infection it carries. Tick-borne encephalitis will not affect an animal, even if a lot of pathogenic bacteria or viruses get into its blood. Ixodid ticks in dogs and cats cause the development of piroplasmosis, or bleeding.
The disease is easier to prevent than to cure. With early diagnosis, this is possible without complications - antibiotics and blood transfusion. With lost time, death is inevitable. The owner should try to make every effort so that his pet is not attacked by ixodid ticks during walks. Treatment, even with the timely detection of poor health of the animal, is a long and expensive process.
Dogs and tick infections
The disease can affect both hunting and decorative dogs. The risk of picking up an ixodid tick in a service dog is much higher. In addition, under the same conditions of keeping, purebred dogs get sick more often than outbred dogs. Ixodid ticks in dogs cause not only piroplasmosis, but also other diseases. However, this disease in our latitudes is considered the most dangerous. When infected, the first symptoms appear very quickly - within a few hours. The dog becomes lethargic, indifferent, refuses to eat, her temperature rises, her pulse quickens, shortness of breath appears, the mucous membranes change color, the urine becomes reddish. In the acute form, first paralysis occurs within a few days, and then death.
Domestic cats are also at risk.
Unlike dogs, cats' behavior is not so characteristic. For a long time it was even believed that ixodid ticks in cats do not cause blood damage by babesiella. However, studies by modern scientists show that they also have bleeding. At risk are purebred animals, especially Siamese cats. Having found a tick on a cat, it must be removed and burned. Feeling the pet a few days after the walk, you can find a wart-like ball on his skin. It should be considered carefully and very carefully. It's most likely a tick. Ixodid ticks in cats, dogs and humans, feeding on blood, do not get under the skin. They pierce it with a proboscis and through it fill their chitinous sac-torso with blood. Outwardly, a swollen tick is very similar to a wart.
There are several ways. All of them are suitable for both humans and animals. The general rule is not to press on the body of the insect.
The simplest thing is to drop oil, kerosene or gasoline on the tick. Insects breathe oxygen in the air. The respiratory organs are located on the legs. When the breathing holes are blocked, he will begin to suffocate and die. A dead tick will fall off on its own. Just be patient and don't pressure him. Only an empty tick can block the respiratory channels in this way. Filled with blood, he may vomit saliva or the contents of his stomach into the wound. In the presence of an infection, infection is inevitable.
It is necessary to remove the tick by wearing rubber gloves and observing all possible precautions as much as possible. One tick can be a carrier of several infectious diseases that are dangerous, if not to an animal, then to a person, and vice versa.
