Troublesome Ticks
Ticks are members of the Arachnida family that includes scorpions and spiders and are the number one vendors of infectious disease to humans in the U.S. Ticks represent a health risk to pets and livestock too. Ticks are most likely to be found on and around animals and birds but regularly feed on humans if the opportunity arises. Humans that are most at risk of getting bitten by a tick are those who spend more time outside in rural areas, those who have close contact with animals and birds, or a combination of both.
About Ticks
With around 22,000 species of ticks identified to date worldwide, the species of ticks that people need to be most concerned about fall into two families, Ixodidae (hard ticks) and Argsidae (soft ticks); a third family, Nutalliellidae is a subject of debate and only one species has been discovered thus far. Simply put, hard ticks have a hard body while soft ticks have a soft body, which swells as the tick feeds. In terms of spreading disease and parasites, it is the hard tick family that is most often to blame.
It is not usually the ticks themselves that are the problem, although some ticks are venomous or carry toxins, but the possibility of tick bites introducing bacteria, parasites, and viruses to their unlucky victims through a tick’s blood feeding habits. Ticks have a multi-stage life cycle that requires a feed of blood in order to move on to the next stage.
While feeding, ticks can attach themselves to a host for many hours and sometimes for up to a day or more, often unnoticed. Like mosquitoes, ticks do not go out of their way to become carriers but the spread of infection is always an inherent risk with a creature that can and frequently does, feed on multiple hosts. Species that are most likely to be of concern include:
- Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)
- Deer Tick also known as Blacklegged Tick and Cattle Tick (Ixodes scapularis)
- Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis)
- Gulf Coast Tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
- Groundhog Tick (Ixodes cookei)
- Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum)
- Soft Ticks (Ornithodoros) (associated with relapsing fever)
- Wood tick (Dermacentor andersonii)
Diseases spread by ticks in North America
Because of climate change and a trend towards the warming of cooler areas in North America authorities are vigilant about ticks occurring where they have not previously been found before. Diseases and parasites spread by ticks include:
- Babesiosis
- Erlichsiosis
- Colorado Tick Fever
- Heartwater (in antelope, cattle, goats, and sheep)
- Lyme Disease
- Relapsing Fever
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
- Screwworm
- Texas Fever (in cattle), also known as redwater and fever tick fever
- Tick Paralysis
- Tularemia
Precautions to take
The simple answer is to keep out of the countryside and avoid contact with animals. However, that is not always possible or desirable. There are ways to reduce the risk:
- As with mosquitoes, wear light colored clothing, a long sleeved shirt, long pants tucked into your socks, good footwear, and a wide brimmed hat
- Check yourself for ticks and use forceps or tweezers to remove any through pressure to the attachment point of the tick to your body; contrary to belief applying heat to a tick will irritate it and could cause it to regurgitate its stomach thus increasing the chance of infection. On animals, pay particular attention to inside and around the ears
- Use repellents, DEET, or permethrins but bear in mind that many of these products carry their own health risks
- Avoid narrow trails with heavy leaf litter as these are more likely to be infested with ticks
- For hunters exercise caution when harvesting deer as bacteria could enter your body via cuts from a deer’s blood, organs, or urine
- Check for disease symptoms (to be covered in future articles) and seek prompt medical attention if symptoms appear.