Ticks
People generally have little or no understanding about these little pesky parasites called ticks and the troubles they bring along while making a place in your house.
Ticks are small insects from a class of arachnids and share the same subgroup as mites. The most common habitat of ticks are areas with humidity and warmth. However, the kind of tick you may encounter depends on the season, local ecology and your geographic location. If you live in a country that faces high temperature then look out for these troublesome insects. They can bite you hard and can be harmful to you. Just by staying on your skin they can cause infections and diseases which can even be life-threatening. Removing them instantly is crucial to avoid infection and serious illness.
How to Remove a Tick
They affect humans and animals equally; in fact, animals including pets are an easy target because it’s difficult to identify the cause of allergy and finding a remedy for it.
When are ticks most active?
Some types of ticks are active during dry and hot weather conditions like that of mid-day. Whereas, mostly ticks prosper during hot and humid hours i-e, during dawn and dusk. Usually, ticks see decreased activity when the temperature drops below 35 degrees Fahrenheit, but that’s for a limited time. As soon as the conditions warm up, they regain their activity.
How Long Can a Tick Live on Your Body?
Ticks are blood-sucking parasites and they can live on your body as long as there is blood flowing in it. But the ticks’ species defines the length of time it will stay on host. Usually on humans a larvae can stay for about 3 days (if not disturbed) whereas adult ticks can stay for as long as 10 days. And after sucking your blood for several days, ticks change color and become greenish blue and get engorged.
By The original uploader was Jeremykemp at English Wikipedia – Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons., CC BY-SA 2.5,
Usually, ticks won’t stay attached for this long, as they cause itching and eventually get removed by scratching. But if a tick gets its way into the body, it can transmit serious infections or diseases. If the host notices a tick’s bite, they should immediately consult a doctor and get treatment for the infection. However if only the hypostome of the tick gets into the body, you can treat it immediately by tweezing it out of the skin with help of pointy tweezers.
Do ticks fall off after they bite you on their own?
It depends on when they get full. Ticks will not just leave their host, they will keep on sucking blood until they are full and engorged, then they fall off on their own. They then go on to lay eggs and hit upon another host to suck blood. A tick can bloat up to 10 times in size when it sucks blood.
Ticks won’t survive if they are unable to suck blood for maximum 30 days.
How long does it take for a tick to transmit disease?
A tick can transmit disease to the host after it stays on him for 24 hours or more. Another factor that determines whether the host will be infected by the tick or not, is the meal taken by the tick. If the tick sucks a meal out of the host and stays attached to him for 24 hours or more, there is a high probability of disease transmission.
Rash developed by Lyme disease. This rash usually shows in a “bull’s-eye” appearance. 80% of Lyme disease patients show this symptom
A common disease transmitted as a result of tick bite is Lyme disease. Different species of ticks transmit different diseases. A brown tick that is equivalent to a poppy seed can transmit Burgdorferi. Whereas a tick with a white collar can transmit life-threatening Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Rash illness and human monotypic ehrlichiosis are caused by brown female tick bites.
Can you feel it when ticks bite you?
No, there is no immediate effect felt by the host after the tick bites. Humans are unable to feel the ticks when they are sucking blood out of their body. The only way to identify tick bites is locating red spots. A red spot or a rash will appear on the place where the tick attached too. The immediate response should be to check if the tick is still present or not. If it’s there then instantly remove it and if not then consult the doctor to get treatment for any possible infection.
Can Ticks Lay Eggs in You?
Fortunately they cannot lay eggs in the host. An adult female tick detaches from the host once she has sucked blood until it’s full. Later she locates a place to lay eggs. The eggs count in the thousands and the tick can lay eggs anywhere, even on your furniture or on carpet. As a result, when these eggs hatch and turn into adult ticks they will be looking for hosts to suck blood, lay eggs and continue the cycle.
Life cycle of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus hard tick. Eggs at far left, then unfed and engorged larvae, unfed and engorged nymphs, unfed female and male top right, fully engorged female bottom right. By Alan R Walker – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,
How To Remove A Tick?
First and foremost thing, never use your hands to get rid of tick from your body.
First, get a pointed and sharp pair of tweezers and position them close to the skin, as close as possible. Make sure you have a strong grip on tweezers and then robustly grasp the tick with them and pull it upwards.
It’s important to be steady in all this and don’t twist or jerk the tweezers as it can not only harm you but can also break the mouth parts of the tick and leave behind it in your skin.
Treat the affected area properly after removing the tick by rubbing alcohol, iodine or soap water on it. After washing the areas throw the tick away by wrapping it. Never use your finger or hands to crush it as this may lead to injection of infections. It’s crucial to understand that this is the only safe and effective technique to get rid of a tick.
Don’t pay attention to useless advice like burning it or painting the tick. It’s never a safe option to burn the tick while trying to detach it as this can have adverse consequences. Follow the above mentioned procedure only to remove it safely.
What do you do if the ticks head breaks off when removing it?
There is a chance that the head remains in the skin even after you were careful in removing it. With the help of tweezers try to remove the tick from the scratch but if some part is left behind in the skin, then let it be there. Do not irritate your skin again.
A small part won’t be harmful and will shed away itself with time. But if the whole head broke off and stays behind in the skin then it should be taken care of as it can cause infection.
First of all apply rubbing alcohol to the affected area. After this get your hands on a clean and sanitized needle and with help of it lift the head out slowly and steadily. If this doesn’t work then you should instantly seek professional medical assistance. Remember the longer it stays, the greater will be the chances of infection.
If you are experiencing serious problems and need more help with how to remove a tick, don’t hesitate to seek medical help. If your property is leaving you vulnerable to tick bites, be sure to call an exterminator to decrease the infestation.
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