Period of activity of ticks: what conditions do parasites prefer, and how to protect yourself when visiting dangerous areas
The number of bloodsuckers in nature is increasing exponentially every year. The reason for this is global warming, the habitat of arthropods is expanding the boundaries. The periods when ticks are active become longer each year. Throughout life, a person may never meet a creepy arachnid, even living in a village. But it happens that going to the park for a rest or another walk in the forest ends with unpleasant and dangerous consequences.
Content
- Where do ticks most often live?
- What do ticks look like photo
- When ticks are dangerous for people
- Tick activity period: when does it start and how long does it last
- The period of activity of ticks in the Moscow region
- Tick activity by months in Siberia
- Precautions for visiting dangerous areas and places
- Tick repellents to choose
Where do ticks most often live?
It is possible to secure a walk by avoiding the place where ticks most often live. Carriers of infectious diseases live in the forest zone of Eurasia. Dangerous bloodsuckers love damp and warm places.
The largest number is found in shaded mixed forests, dense grass and bushes, wide deciduous glades, forest ravines and dens, coastal thickets.
They also concentrate on forest edges, paths, along park alleys, near water bodies. In such places, parasites are more numerous than in the rest of the forest or park, and the smell of animals and people moving along the trails attracts them. There is a misconception that bloodsuckers fall from trees onto people. In fact, the arthropod crawls from the bottom up, towards the shoulders and head.
What do ticks look like photo
For those who were lucky enough to never meet with parasites and do not know what ticks look like, the photos are selected according to the principle of greater prevalence. Ixodids are a common family of carriers of infectious diseases in Russia (tick-borne encephalitis, tick-borne borreliosis, babesiosis, bartonellosis), representatives of their genus are outwardly similar.
Life cycle features
When studying the topic, the features of the life cycle of parasites are interesting. They have several stages of development: egg, larva, nymph, adult tick.
Some species develop and grow on the same host.
When ticks are dangerous for people
It is not difficult to remember when ticks are dangerous for people. Parasites are most dangerous in early spring; they wake up along with the awakening of nature.
- You can bring it from the forest, city parks and squares, from country buses.
- You can meet a bloodsucker on bouquets of flowers, in bags with summer things. They carry severe infectious diseases: tick-borne encephalitis, hemorrhagic fever, Lyme disease or borreliosis.
Encephalitis begins with a headache, general malaise, pain in the joints, in the neck. Possible fever, nausea. In this case, you need to go to the hospital for help.
Tick activity period: when does it start and how long does it last
To calmly go for a walk in the forested area, you need to study the period of activity of ticks: when does it start and how long does it last. Favorable temperature for ticks is +20 degrees, humidity - 80%. From early spring to late autumn, it is worth preparing for a meeting with one of them.
As soon as spring comes, the period of mass walks, picnic trips, and fishing trips begins. The time when ticks wake up is a period of increased opportunity to contract infectious diseases from arachnids. They wake up at a temperature of +1 to +3 degrees, start to become active at +10.
The first peak of tick activity begins during the flowering of primroses. It lasts from late March-early April to mid-July, the second - from August to October. Each year these periods differ depending on the weather conditions. Parasites are most active at an average daily temperature of +10 to +20. On sunny days, their number increases from 8 to 11 o'clock in the afternoon, and from 17 to 20 o'clock in the evening. If the last winter was frosty, the number of bloodsuckers noticeably decreases.
With the first persistent cold snaps, the time comes when ticks cease to be active. If frosts begin in September, they take refuge, not getting out of their shelters again until spring. If the weather is warm, they are active until October-November. The second generation of ticks that appear in August is not as active as the first. The reasons are natural: birds and animals eat parasites, the temperature rises and air humidity decreases, females die, and young arachnids are at the development stage. Their only purpose is to reproduce.
Dangerous carriers and custodians of infections have their own schedule associated with the life cycle and optimal weather conditions.
There are no obvious differences in how parasites behave at night compared to daytime activity.
The period of activity of ticks in the Moscow region
The period of activity of ticks in the Moscow region falls on warm days from May to July. Due to early spring or warm autumn, the dates may shift. The peak of parasite activity in the Moscow region is hot June and July. Regular processing of possible arthropod accumulation areas is carried out to neutralize the territory, but these precautions cannot protect 100%.
Tick activity by months in Siberia
The activity of ticks by months in Siberia is presented below, April-May and August-September remain peak for the spread of parasites:
- low activity — January, February, March, November, December;
- average activity — July, October;
- high activity April, May, June, August, September.
Precautions for visiting dangerous areas and places
How to protect yourself from ticks while hiking
Protective clothing is the most effective method and is often used by outdoor enthusiasts.
Special anti-tick suits are made of coarse fabric, consist of a shirt and trousers that do not give access to an open body, otherwise they are called "encephalitis".
On the sleeves and legs are sewn soft tight-fitting cuffs that do not allow the reptile to penetrate under the suit. The hood on the shirt is also stitched with an elastic band. As an anti-tick, you can use a regular tracksuit with a zipper. It is better to choose a light color, it is easier to detect a dark parasite on it.
- Minimize the possibility of the parasite crawling under clothing, facilitate a quick inspection: tuck trousers into boots, socks with a tight elastic band, a hood on the head, a jacket tucked into trousers, cuffs on the neck, arms, legs fit snugly to the body.
- Every two hours, treat the protective suit with repellents that contain chemicals that repel ticks, and exposed parts of the body are lubricated with similar creams.
- Regularly inspect the surface of clothing and body every hour and a half for timely detection, paying attention to wrinkles.
Protection against ticks in the suburban area
Protection against ticks in a suburban area comes down to following the rules:
- when pruning trees and shrubs, remove the lower branches up to 50 cm from the ground, make sure that the plants do not come into contact with the house so that the bloodsucker does not have the opportunity to climb into the house. Parasites do not fly, they need elevation to cling to prey;
- carefully remove plant debris in the off-season, mow the grass in time;
- fence off the site from strangers and wild animals;
- plant insecticide plants on the site: Caucasian chamomile or tansy, catnip, lavender, rosemary, garlic, marigolds, spray the site once a month with an infusion of these plants or chemicals;
- parasites can hide in bouquets from summer cottages brought to the city;
- vaccinate yourself and animals against tick-borne encephalitis;
- After the walk, it is obligatory to inspect yourself and your pets.
If a bite occurs, a dangerous bloodsucker can be pulled out at any trauma center or clinic. The parasite is submitted for analysis, if the results do not reveal a dangerous virus, you can forget about the bite. If there is an infection, you will have to undergo a course of treatment.
Tick protection in the city
Cases of arachnid bites are recorded not only in villages or summer cottages, protection from harmful arachnids remains relevant in the city.
Parasites wait for their prey at a height of 0,5-1 m from the surface of the earth near paths, paths, in dead wood.
A person practically does not feel a bite, only on the second or third day the place becomes painful. Often the bloodsucker chooses to bite the scalp, ear area, groin area, elbows, arms and legs. Actions to protect against bloodsuckers in the city:
- choose light-colored closed clothing for possible habitats of bloodsuckers;
- use repellents;
- beware of tall shrubs and grass;
- remove all insects from clothing every two hours;
- having come from a walk to undress in the corridor, carefully look around.
If a bloodsucker is found, contact the nearest hospital for its removal and neutralization.
Tick repellents to choose
For insurance against parasites, tick repellents are used, which one to choose is not an easy question. According to the principle of action, the funds are divided into repellents (repel), acaricides (poison) and mixed. Some are produced on essential oils of geranium, clove, eucalyptus, others are based on a synthetic composition.
Means come in the form of sprays, creams, lotions, emulsions, wipes, pencils, stickers.
On clothing, the deterrent effect of repellents lasts longer than on the skin. When choosing a repellent, you need to consider:
- the tool must have a certificate of state registration;
- information about the purpose, method of application, precautions is set out on the label;
- the duration of the protective effect of the funds.