When you think about ticks, what comes in your mind? A small, gross-looking, creepy insect with which we don’t want any contact. Well, this is the main reason for which you should take them seriously. Not only just nausea, fever, or chills, ticks can even cause potentially life-threatening infections including neurological problems.
In this post, we will share with you 5 interesting facts related to ticks which will surely boost your general knowledge and help you more prepared to deal with ticks. To know more, keep reading.
i) A tick is not an insect:
Feeling surprised? But it is true. They are not insects but arachnids. It means they are more close to spiders than mosquitos and flies. You can even find a great similarity between a spider and a tick. They have a total of 8 legs and do not have any antenna. In addition, they do not jump or fly like mosquitos and flies. Instead of that, ticks usually set their site on top of grasses or other plants, and steadily wait for their prey. This strategy of ticks is known as ‘questing’. They use their 3rd and 4th pair of legs to stay stable and then expand their 1st pair of legs to attach themselves with the unsuspecting host.
ii) When a ticks bite, the chances are high that they stick there for a longer time:
Ticks are not mosquitoes that will come and go within seconds. They generally stick on the body of their host for aa longer time, probably for a few days. At first, after sticking on the body of the host, ticks search for a good spot to set up their picnic basket. Then it gets ready for meal preparation which may take up to 2 hours. After that, it opens up the feeding tube and shells out a certain type of saliva that thins your blood and makes your skin numb. In the primary stage, ticks are so small in size that you often cannot notice them. It then stays on your skin and starts feeding itself for 2-3 days.
iii) A tick can spread more than one disease at once:
Humans are not the only prey of ticks. They can make a rabbit, a mouse, a deer, or any mammal as their hosts. As because they change their hosts, they also continue infecting the hosts with pathogens. In addition, they also pick up infectious bacteria from the host bodies that can cause multiple diseases to humans. So, a tick can spread more than one disease at once.
iv) Use a pair of tweezers to remove a tick from your body:
You should not treat a tick like any other unwanted bug and freak out getting nervous. Instead of doing that, stay calm and cool, and search for a pair of pointy tweezers. Hold the tick strongly with the tweezer (as one part of it will be inside your skin) and then pull it upwards slowly and firmly. Do not worry if you fail to pull it out totally. It is already dead and the remaining part will be loose within some time.
v) They don’t transmit diseases fast:
The disease transmission rate for ticks is very slow. Certain ticks may start transmitting diseases within 8 hours, but most of them take even longer time.
Final thought:
Ticks can be dangerous for you and your kids’ health. So, stay careful when camping or playing outside with your kids, and in necessary, you can also ask for professional help such as Detroit tick control. Stay careful, stay safe.
