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| Precautions can be taken to avoid contact with ticks |
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| Opinion | |||
| Written by Nancy Kalman | |||
| Friday, 05 March 2010 09:00 | |||
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The most important ticks to those of us in Miami County are hard ticks. They carry several serious diseases and transmit them to humans and pets. Ticks go through a life cycle of egg, larva, nymph and adult. The most important are three-host ticks. The adult female tick gorges on blood, drops off its host and deposits thousands of eggs. The female then dies. Six-legged larvae develop and remain on the ground or within low vegetation until a host comes by. After feeding for a few days, a larva drops off, molts and becomes an eight-legged nymph. Ticks in all of these stages are very small, but can become attached to people. The normal host for the nymph would be a small animal, such as an opossum, dog, rabbit, raccoon or skunk. After a week or so of feeding, the nymph falls off, molts and becomes an eight-legged adult. The adult mates and feeds on another host, a larger animal. An adult tick can crawl several feet onto tall grasses, weeds or low bushes. It does not jump or drop from trees. The American dog tick feeds on cats, dogs, cattle, horses and other large animals, including humans. The female expands to about ¾ inch in size after gorging. In our region, these ticks are encountered from March to September in grasslands and at the edge of forests. They transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and cytauxzoonosis, a fatal blood parasite in cats, and they can cause paralysis if attached close to the spine. The female Lone Star tick has a white “star” on its dorsal shield. The male has white-to-yellow lines on the edge of the shield. It is found in dense underbrush, where it waits for deer. All stages of these ticks can be found on deer. Those in immature stages are found on quail, foxes, rabbits, squirrels, dogs, coyotes and humans. The adult ticks are encountered from late February until early June and the larvae from late summer into fall. Thousands of larvae can be found on a single blade of grass or leaf. These ticks carry the organisms that cause the bacterial diseases ehrlichiosis and tularemia, as well as the bacterium Borrelia lonestari, which causes Lyme disease-like symptoms. The black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick, is called the Lyme disease tick. Its primary host is the white-tailed deer. The occurrence of Lyme disease follows the increase in white-tailed deer population. These ticks are very small. The larvae, which are the size of a pin head, feed on mice, squirrels, chipmunks, other small animals and humans. Juveniles are found mostly between May and July. Adult deer ticks, which are about one-sixteenth of an inch long, are found between September and December. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most Lyme-disease cases occur as the result of a bite from an infected nymph. The brown dog tick is another three-host tick. It is the only tick that will infest human dwellings and kennels. It carries dog diseases. Here are some precautions to take: When walking into tick habitat, wear long pants and tuck cuffs into socks or tape them to socks. Wrap duct tape around your pant legs; make one twist and wrap sticky side out. Wear light clothing, so ticks are visible. Hike with others to make it easier to spot ticks. Apply repellent to the top of socks and pant legs. Products with DEET are effective for a few hours. Products with permethrin are effective for several days, but do not apply them directly to skin. Don’t bring camping gear or sports equipment into a house or building until it is inspected for ticks. Undress and check for ticks as soon as possible after returning from the outdoors. Apply regular applications of acaricides (collar, spray or spot application) on pets. Avoid tall grasses, weeds and brushy areas. Stay in the center of paths. Keep grass and shrubs mowed. Sunlight will desiccate ticks. Broad application of chemical treatment is rarely needed, but some pesticides may be necessary along fence rows, around animal kennels or in shaded areas. Be sure to follow state laws and label directions. Removal of ticks Remove an attached tick as soon as possible. Disease is rarely transmitted within the first 8 hours of attachment and seldom within 18 hours. Grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible with small tweezers. Pull slowly away from the skin. Do not twist or jerk. Kansas State University entomologists do not recommend other removal methods. Place the tick in a small bottle of alcohol if retrieved from a human. Label and date the bottle. If flu-like symptoms, skin rash, headache or fever occur within 10 to 14 days, see a physician and take the tick with you. Suspect ticks also may be taken to county Extension offices to be sent to K-State labs for analysis. For more information, contact the Miami County Extension Office at 294-4306, or go to its Web site at www.miami.ksu.edu.
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