Small brown ticks: danger to animals and humans, methods of extraction and methods of protection against bites

What does a brown tick look like?

The appearance of the parasite depends on its variety, stage of development and degree of saturation with blood. Brown ticks can have the following species:

Representatives of all these species have common morphological characteristics, but each of them is separated into a separate species based on scientific classification. Further in the article we are talking about a separate type of ticks - a brown dog tick.

Morphology

Distinctive features of the brown dog tick:

• the shape of the body is flat, teardrop-shaped, tapering towards the mouth apparatus;
• on the head are biting and sucking organs for eating;
• body color dark or reddish-brown;
• the body length is 2-4 mm, having been fed with blood, the tick increases in size by 10-15 mm;
• no eyes or they are barely visible;
• the adult has 4 pairs of legs.

Can they fly or jump

Geographic distribution

This parasite is widespread on all continents. In Russia, it is most often found on the Black Sea coast, Crimea, Western and Eastern Transcaucasia. From neighboring countries - in Armenia, Turkmenistan. The pest also lives in the Mediterranean, South Asia and America.

Nutritional features of insects

The brown tick prefers to bite representatives of the canine order, however, in the absence of a suitable victim, it can also attack a person. Sticking to the dog, the pest drinks the blood for about 8 days, all this time it remains in one place.

If a person became a victim, he parasitizes on his body for about a day.

Ticks have a perfect mouth apparatus, consisting of chelicerae and pedipalps. With the help of pedipalps, the insect pierces the skin, chelicerae look like a proboscis with notches. Prolonged fasting does not prevent predatory mites from living.

In the absence of food and under other unfavorable conditions, the parasite falls into a state of anabiosis, in which it can arrive for up to 3 years.. After drinking blood, the insect is again capable of active reproduction and development.

Reproduction

Reproduction is bisexual, individuals are clearly divided into males and females. Young parasites find a host and start feeding and mating. After saturation, the female leaves the body of the host and proceeds to oviposition. The number of eggs laid depends on the degree of saturation of the female with blood and environmental conditions. On average, one female lays 200-1700 eggs.

Development

The average life cycle of a tick is 63 days. Often, all stages of its development, the arachnid passes on the coat of one dog or in one dog kennel. Stages of development of a brown tick:

It should be noted that the larva and nymph are also dangerous for animals and humans, as they can already be carriers of dangerous diseases. Ticks that have not reached the adult stage most often attack animals, not humans.

Morphologically related species

In appearance, the dog tick is most similar to Rhipicephalus rossicus and Rhipicephalus bursa. Representatives of these species are distinguished by a wide dorsal shield in the female, forming a regular arc. A feature of males is an oblong-oval peritreme and a wide process, bent to the dorsal side.

Why are small brown ticks dangerous?

The danger of these parasites lies in the ability to carry infectious diseases and infect them through bites. In addition, a tick bite can cause an allergic reaction up to anaphylactic shock.

How does a tick get on a person

Ticks climb on blades of grass and low bushes. There they, stretching out their front paws, are waiting for their prey, which can be both a dog and a person.

A pest cannot jump from an animal to a person, but it can crawl during a long hug or if the dog is in the same bed with a person.

Tick ​​removal rules

If a brown parasite is found on the body, it should be removed as soon as possible - this reduces the risk of contracting tick-borne infections. To do this, it is advisable to contact a medical institution, but if this is not possible, you need to act on your own.

How to pull out a small brown tick

The algorithm for extracting a dog tick does not differ from the schemes for removing other similar parasites:

1. Prepare a container with a tight lid in order to immediately place the bloodsucker in it. It is also advisable to put a small piece of cotton wool moistened with water there.
2. Protect the skin from contact with the tick: put on medical gloves, wrap your fingers with pieces of gauze.
3. Using tweezers, a special tool, or just your fingers, grab the parasite as close to the skin as possible.
4. Slowly scroll the tick in any direction and remove. It is important to act carefully, without making sudden movements.
5. Place the extracted insect in a container and close the lid.
6. Disinfect the bite site with any antiseptic: hydrogen peroxide, alcohol, iodine.

Next, you need to examine the wound: if a black dot is visible under the skin, then the head of the tick came off and remained in the body of the victim. In this case, you can try to remove it with a needle, like a splinter. If it was not possible, just fill it with iodine - after a few days the body itself will reject the foreign body.

brown tick bite

Having stuck to the body of an animal, the pest can drink blood for 8 days, while it literally sticks out of the skin. The tick spends less time on the human body: about a day. It may be there a little more if stuck to places protected by hairline. If the tick was not noticed, it will fall off on its own. At the same time, a mark will remain at the site of the bite with a noticeable hole in the middle, in the place where his head was.

How and where does a tick usually bite?

Parasites have a very keen sense of smell, they find the victim with the help of special sensory organs. When approaching an animal or a person, the insect puts forward its front paws and clings to their fur or skin. Pests prefer to bite in places where the skin is thin and delicate. Favorite places for a bite in animals:

• stomach;
• neck;
• groin area;
• hind legs in the thigh area;
• ears.

On humans, ticks are most often found:

• neck;
• the area behind the ears;
• inner sides of the legs;
• under the knees;
• armpit area;
• stomach;
• groin.

The saliva of the parasite contains an enzyme that has an analgesic effect, so the bite does not cause discomfort and often goes unnoticed for a long time.

What to do when bitten by a tick

First of all, it is necessary to remove the parasite as soon as possible and send it to the laboratory for analysis. If a person turned out to be a victim of a bloodsucker, he needs to contact a medical facility.

Doctors will give recommendations on the prevention of infection with tick-borne infections, if necessary, a course of immunoglobulin and antiviral drugs may be prescribed.

Visit the hospital should be within 3 days after the attack of the parasite. It is necessary to mark the date of the bite on the calendar and monitor the state of health for 21 days.

If alarming symptoms appear, such as fever, weakness, muscle pain, you should immediately consult a doctor. If a tick has bitten an animal, the recommendations are similar: you should contact your veterinarian for further instructions and follow up for 3 weeks.

Diseases carried by ticks

Canine brown ticks do not tolerate common tick-borne infections such as encephalitis and Lyme disease. However, they can infect other dangerous diseases:

1. Babesiosis (piroplasmosis). The most dangerous disease for dogs. The virus enters the red blood cells and causes severe anemia. Often leads to death. Characteristic symptoms: blood in the urine, yellowing of the mucous membranes. It also manifests itself in the form of weakness, apathy, fever.
2. Anaplasmosis. The virus infects platelets, resulting in impaired blood clotting. External signs of infection: lethargy, fever, lack of appetite.
3. Rickettsiosis (Marseilles fever). Acute infectious pathology with the following symptoms: skin rashes like roseola, swollen lymph nodes, fever. The disease is dangerous for humans.
4. Crimean hemorrhagic fever, better known as the "Crimean disease". The disease begins with fever, a significant increase in body temperature. The virus infects the vascular endothelium, causing nosebleeds, bleeding gums. Gastrointestinal bleeding may occur, which greatly worsens the prognosis. The disease only infects humans.

Ways to protect against ticks

There are many pest control products on the market today. All of them are effective to some extent and should not be neglected in their use.

Repellents

The action of repellents is based on repelling insects with the help of odors that are unpleasant for them. Preparations are produced in the form of sprays, lotions, aerosols and ointments. Most drugs can be applied to exposed areas of the body, and they can also be used to treat clothing and equipment. The most popular of them are:

Akaritsidı

Most often, acaricidal preparations are produced in the form of aerosols. Active ingredients, alfamethrin, cypermethrin, have a nerve-paralytic effect on the tick, as a result of which the parasite loses its ability to move and disappears from the skin or clothing.

Acaricides are very toxic, so they should not be applied to open areas of the body. Clothing should be processed without putting on. The most effective drugs with acaricidal action:

Insecticide repellent preparations

Preparations of this group are considered the most effective, as they combine their repellent and acaricidal preparations. Effective for protection not only from ticks, but also from other insects.

Vaccination

Currently, a vaccine has been developed only for tick-borne encephalitis. You can get vaccinated at any licensed hospital. The vaccinated organism, in the event of a virus penetration, recognizes it and begins to actively fight it.

Overalls

When traveling to areas where ticks are likely to live, protective clothing should be worn. You should choose things of light shades - it is easier to notice the parasite on it.

Pants should be tucked into socks, cuffs should fit snugly around the arms.

The tick crawls from the bottom up, so it is better to tuck the jacket into trousers. Mandatory high collar and headgear, hood. Special anti-tick suits are also on sale.

Medical assistance with a bite when to apply

A tick bite causes panic in many, but you need to act calmly and confidently. You can contact any medical institution: surgical department, emergency department, emergency room. If this is not possible, the tick was removed on its own and there are no complaints, you still need to see a doctor within 3 days. Dangerous infectious diseases may not appear for a long time, the doctor will prescribe all the necessary preventive measures.

Control measures

Currently, many measures have been developed to combat ixodid ticks. They can be done with the help of a specialist or on your own.

Fighting activities

Disinsection can be carried out independently, however, commercially available products are not as effective as special chemicals.

Specialists know how and in what quantity to spray such products so that it is safe, they work with the help of special equipment, without which the consumption of the drug will be very large.

In addition, professional products are expensive and are sold in large packages, which is enough to treat several areas.

Preventive measures

In addition to treating the site to combat ticks, it is necessary to carry out preventive measures:

• the use of protective equipment for animals (collars, drops, emulsions, etc.) and humans (repellents, acaricides, clothing protection);
• avoid littering the site: remove plant debris, fallen leaves;
• fight rodents: they are the top dressing for ixodid tick larvae.