Size of ticks and features of their behavior

Ticks belong to the class Arachnids, to the subclass Arthropods, scientists number more than 48 thousand of their species. But only some species are related to parasites that carry various diseases of humans and animals. Most of them eat organic food. Like earthworms, mites play an important role in the formation of soil humus. Some types of ticks are harmful to agriculture, feeding on the juice of cultivated plants. Among some species of these arthropods, there is such a phenomenon as omovampirism, when a hungry individual eats the blood of his fellow-man.

The size of the mites is very small - from 0.2 mm to 5 mm, while the size of the female is slightly higher than the size of the males. Female only some species can reach 3 cm in length. The study of mites is concerned with the division of zoology, called acarology.

Of the variety of species in the human dwelling, one can find gamasid mites, saprophytes (house dust mites) and ixodids.

Gamazic mites that feed on the blood of mammals can enter living quarters with rodents (rats and mice) and usually live in places of communication (in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the toilet), under the skirting boards, behind the furniture.

Having small-sized ticks of household dust with the naked eye is almost impossible to see. In a human dwelling, they are most often found in carpet nap on the floor, as well as in furniture upholstery, in soft toys, on clothes, in bed linens - pillows, mattresses, blankets. Food for them is exfoliated particles of human skin.

Ixodid mites can get into housing by attaching themselves to human clothes or to the animal's wool, as well as together with things, firewood, bouquets of flowers, etc. The food for them is blood and lymph of mammals, and the saturation process can last up to three weeks.

On their prey, mites attack during the warm season - from April to October, the greatest activity is at the end of spring - early summer. It is worth noting that the number of mites that can infect a person with any diseases, including tick-borne encephalitis, Crimean hemorrhagic fever or Lyme disease, is only 1%, ie, 99% bites for humans are not dangerous.

The mites do not jump on their prey, they wait for it on the ground or in the grass. Once on the body, the mite does not immediately suck in to the skin - up to this point it can take several hours, which means that if you have small-sized ticks in time to notice, then the bite can be avoided.

After spotting the place, the mite bites through the skin and inserts into the wound a special pharyngeal outgrowth covered with chitinous denticles (hypostome) that looks like a harpoon. This is why a tick, the size of which increases as it replenishes with blood, is difficult to extract. Usually this is done with tweezers. After removing the tick, the wound is treated with a solution of iodine or alcohol. Bandage is not mandatory. Whether a person has been bitten by an encephalitic tick, the size and appearance of which does not differ from a non-encephalitic one, can be determined only in laboratory conditions, and therefore it is necessary to apply to a medical institution as soon as possible.

To protect yourself from ticks, special protective measures must be taken before going to the forest - wear long-sleeved clothing, and pants should be tucked into socks, you must wear a hat and, if possible, use repellent repellent repellents that are applied to exposed areas of the body and clothing . If you plan to visit often those places where these arthropod attacks are possible, it is best to get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. Returning home, you should carefully examine yourself and your pet for the presence of pests, as the size of ticks that have not yet attached to the skin, do not immediately detect them.

Observance of these elementary security measures can save not only health, but also, perhaps, life.