Ticks

The only thing worse than finding a tick crawling up your leg is finding one
already attached and quietly having dinner. Mouth parts firmly anchored, these
small creatures feed on the blood of their host without causing the slightest bit
of pain or discomfort. They are common creatures and people who spend any
time in the outdoors will eventually encounter one, or more. Ugh! But for a
moment, set aside your disgust for the lowly tick and you will find them an
interesting study in adaptability.

Trying to catch a blood meal must be a major task for the tiny tick. Ill
equipped for running, they certainly aren't going to get up on their hind legs
and chase something down. The lack of wings means they aren't going to take to
the air to locate a host. No, the tick has developed a more sinister method of
attack - waiting. Waiting, waiting and more waiting. Just how long a wait the
average tick must endure is unknown, but some ticks have been kept in captivity
under starvation conditions for over three years with no apparent ill effects.
No wonder they appear so anxious when you see one running up your leg or
across your shirt.

Ticks feed, of course, on the blood and tissue fluids of their host. Some species
are very picky about who provides a meal, preferring small rodents, certain
species of birds, or even amphibians and reptiles. Others are legs selective and
whoever wanders by, even a human, is a likely target.

What ticks do in the meantime is anyone's guess, but they can endure a lot. Even
periods of extreme drought seem to have little affect on them. Moisture, too, is
not a deterrent. In one study a nymphal tick was kept underwater at
temperatures near freezing for 160 days. It was good as new and anxious as
ever to find a meal when it was at last free of the water torture.

By now you are starting to get an idea of how formidable these little creatures
are and why they are commonly encountered in the outdoors. They are well
adapted to extremes in weather, they have few natural enemies and they can
live long periods of time without feeding. As if that weren't bad enough, they
are prolific reproducers. One female can lay hundreds, sometimes thousands of
eggs.

The most commonly seen ticks are "hard ticks," tough leathery animals that take
a long time to feed. Like many other insects and invertebrates, life begins with
a tiny egg. Usually a fertilized female lives through the winter, and with the
warming of spring, she lays her egg, then dies. The eggs hatch in about a month,
and the little hatchlings are called larva. They have six legs and are hungry to
find a host. Many larvae often hatch out in close proximity to one another.
Together they migrate to the top of tall grasses or brush. When a likely host
wanders by, they all extend their tiny legs and grip on. Several hundred may
get brushed onto the host at one time. Because of sheer numbers and tiny size
many people refer to them as "seed" ticks, and indeed they will make every
effort to plant themselves in the skin of the unwary host. They begin feeding
as soon as they can, but feeding is a long, slow process, taking at least four to
eight hours in many species and as long as several days in others.

After feeding, the larval tick drops from the host and rests, allowing the meal
to digest. In many species they are inactive for a long period of time, as that
will be the only meal for that season. Eventually the larva molts its skin and
becomes a nymph, a miniature version of the adult, now sporting eight legs
instead of just six. The eight-legged nymph follows the same pattern of
locating a blood meal, dropping off, resting and molting again. Some species
need one host, some two, and others many hosts before they finally are able to
molt into the adult tick.

Since wandering about the forest floor isn't a very good way to find a mate,
ticks generally find one another while still on the host. The smaller male mates
with the female, often when she is still attached to the host and feeding. When
she drops from the host the courtship is over. It's a whirlwind romance for her
and a last meal for him, as he dies soon after.

There is generally no discomfort from a feeding tick, and the amount of blood
consumed is hardly something anyone will notice; but still, the idea of a parasite
using you for breakfast is universally repulsive. There are other reasons to be
concerned about tick feeding. They can transmit a number of diseases and
create some very real health concerns. Everyone who participates in outdoor
activities should be informed about these potential problems.

Some people have an allergic-tap reaction to the salivary secretions of the tick.
This can cause tick paralysis, particularly if the bite is at the base of the skull
on the back of the head. Paralysis can affect certain parts of the body or it
can result in nearly total paralysis. This happens most often in children and
small adults. As disturbing as it seems the paralysis begins to disappear with
the removal of the offending tick, and total recovery can be expected. Another
reaction to the salivary secretions is tick toxicosis. It is essentially a poisoning
of the host even though no venom is injected. It begins with redness and
swelling at the site of the tick bite and can become quite serious, even fatal.
Both tick paralysis and tick toxicosis are uncommon.

In addition to the tick bite and reaction to salivary secretions, there are a
number of tick-born diseases: tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and
Lyme disease. Named for the Connecticut town where it was first diagnosed,
Lyme disease is presently in the news. It is currently causing significant
concerns in the northeastern United States. In the eastern United States it is
spread primarily by the deer tick (Ixodes dammini).

Missouri has many species of ticks, but the two most often encountered hard
ticks are the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) and the American dog tick
(Dermacentor variabilis). The deer tick (Ixodes scapularis), sometimes called
the blacklegged tick, is another common Missouri species.

Dealing with the medical aspects of these tick-born diseases is best left up to
public health agencies and your physician. As a person active in the outdoors,
PREVENTION is your best course of action. Preventing and minimizing
exposure to ticks will do more to avoid infection with a tick-born disease than
anything else. Whenever possible, avoid tick infested areas, especially during
the time of year they are most active (April through September). This isn't
always realistic, so when you are outdoors wear appropriate clothing. Wear
boots or other proper footwear. Wear long pants that cover up your legs.
Sandals and shorts may be comfortable in the summer heat but they provide
easy access to hungry ticks. Also cover your arms and leave as little skin
exposed as possible. Clothing that is secure around the ankles and wrists is
helpful. These are additional benefits from wearing appropriate clothing.
You'll be providing a cushion against abrasions and protection from brambles
and brush. And yes, you'll minimize your encounters with poison ivy.

Apply repellents to your skin and to clothing. Ticks are very resistant to
insecticides, but there are effective repellents on the market. Some of them
are put directly on the skin. Others, like those containing diethylouamid (Deet),
are sprayed on the clothing and allowed to dry, giving you added protection.
Socks and pant legs are important places to treat since they provide easy
access to ticks.

Since pets and livestock are also convenient hosts for ticks, treat them often
and prevent tick infestation. Not only will your animals be more comfortable
and healthy, but they will bring fewer ticks directly to you, thus minimizing
your exposure. You'll be lowering the tick population in the general vicinity,
and indirectly reducing your own tick exposure.

Whenever possible keep weeds and grasses cut very short. This is appropriate
in the lawn around homes and occasionally along woodland paths. It is not
practical and not good wildlife management in other locations.

One of the most common questions people ask when there is a tick outbreak is
what pesticides can be sprayed to kill them. There are several chemicals
recommended for this use but in most cases there is little if any impact on the
tick population. They are amazingly resistant to most pesticide use.

One of the most important things people who spend time outdoors must do is get
in the habit of personal inspection following every outdoor activity. Once
inside, remove clothing and check the body thoroughly for ticks that are running
loose or already attached. Adults must do this for their children. Since most
tick-transmitted diseases are not transferred to the host until the tick has
been feeding for some time and is almost full, the earlier the tick is located and
removed, the lower the chance of being infected by the tick pathogen. Never
allow more than four to eight hours to pass without a thorough tick inspection.
Make this a regular habit, particularly when you are in tick-infested areas
during the summer months.

If you do find a tick, prompt proper removal is necessary. Never mind all of
those great ways to tempt the tick into unfastening from you skin. Applying
fingernail polish, a hot match head, bleach or insecticides are all ineffective and
only complicate the task at hand. Once a tick has initiated feeding, the salivary
secretions form a cement that locks the jaws in place. This hold can only be
loosened when feeding is finished and another chemical is secreted to dissolve
the cement. It is important to remove the tick alive and intact. Secondary
infections from improperly removed ticks are much more common than any
tick-born disease.

Removing a tick that is already attached is a four part procedure. First,
disinfect the area of attachment. Next, grasp the tick firmly as close to the
head as possible, protecting your fingers with tissue or rubber gloves.
Tweezers may also be helpful. Pull the tick away from the skin with a firm
upward and outward movement. Never jerk or twist the tick when removing. It
is important that the mouth parts remain attached to the tick, not left
embedded in the skin. Finally, dispose of the tick properly and disinfect the
area again. Recommended disposal methods include dropping them in alcohol or
crushing them with your shoe heel or between two rocks - but never with your
fingers.

Why so cautious? The most important consideration is to minimize your risk
for disease infection. Even if the tick does carry a disease you are likely not
infected until it has been attached for several hours. During the removal
process you want to leave the tick intact, with the disease organisms inside.
Squeezing the tick during the removal process may artificially inject the
disease organisms into your body. A common way to kill the tick is to crush it
between your fingernails, but this exposes your skin to the disease you are
trying to avoid. The organism can enter your body artificially though your
nose, eyes, or even cracks in your skin. In general these diseases are difficult
to transmit, but squashing the tick exposes you unnecessarily.

In the days and weeks following a tick bite, watch for physiological signals that
may alert you to a tick-born disease. Watch for a localized lesion or swelling
at the site of the tick bite. In Lyme disease, a reddened target begin to
develop within a few days, eventually reaching several inches in diameter. Be on
the lookout for unexplained flu-like symptoms: fever, headaches, body aches,
dizziness. Unusual rashes are important signals. Sometimes the lymph nodes
become swollen and tender. An individual infected with a tick-born disease may
have all or none of these signals. A doctor seeing some of these symptoms may
not relate them to ticks, so tell the physician if you've recently been tick
bitten or been in tick infested areas so that an accurate diagnosis is possible.