The species diversity of ticks is frightening and fascinating: at the moment there are about fifty thousand species, but this is not the limit. Every year, scientists find new types of parasites, expanding our knowledge about them. This knowledge is invaluable, because it can warn us against the danger posed by small parasites. Although there are types of ticks that help us all our lives. Therefore, it will not be possible to unequivocally answer the question of how long ticks live, because this indicator is different for everyone.
Habitat
Over the millions of years of their existence, ticks have been able to get close to a person quite close, so they can be found literally everywhere and everywhere. In dense thickets of the forest, ticks wait for their victims on the branches of trees, or in high thickets of grass. How many ticks live in the forest depends on their lifestyle and the amount of food eaten. Take, for example, blood ticks: they have to wait for years to satisfy their hunger. In the urban bustle of megalopolises, these small arachnids parasitize stray animals, causing considerable discomfort. We carry some mites on our face throughout our lives.
Why are ticks dangerous to us?
Ticks can pose a threat to humans only in one case - when they are carriers of diseases. Through a tick bite, you can become infected with such diseases: encephalitis, typhus, hemorrhagic and Q fever, scabies, ehrlichiosis. The names of these diseases alone are terrifying, not to mention the consequences. How long do ticks that carry such ailments live?
The same as in the usual! But this fact makes you wary and be more attentive. But these parasites are not only troublesome for humans. Almost all representatives of fauna and flora are also susceptible to attack. Modern man surrounds himself with four-legged friends who can be carriers of the very diseases from ticks, indoor plants are susceptible to attacks by spider mites. This is not dangerous for a person, but it can cause a lot of trouble.
Where do forest mites come from?
Ticks have always inhabited forests, meadows, plains, mountain slopes, etc. However, they did not pay much attention to them before. Many years ago people were sick with encephalitis, borreliosis and other dangerous viruses after tick bites, but these were, rather, isolated cases. The issue of interconnection was not then dealt with. At the beginning of the last century, the backyard economy began to develop actively, as a result of which a strong wave of migration of forest ticks to cities and suburbs began, the parasite can get into the apartment on the body of domestic animals.
Now ticks can be found both outside the city (in the forest or, for example, by the lake), and within the city: parks, squares, shady alleys - the favorite habitats of parasites.
The lifespan of ticks after being bitten
Ticks can be confidently called the laziest arachnids: in their entire life, they overcome several tens of meters. And an interesting fact: the female needs more blood and time to saturate. A couple of days is enough for the male to replenish stocks and go to digest the food received. And the female sometimes has few weeks. Swollen to the size of a bean, it continues to be on the victim.Therefore, how long ticks live after a bite will depend on the amount of blood consumed.
That is, having satiated enough, the parasite will digest the contents of the stomach, and when this supply runs out, it will go into a "standby mode". Based on this, it is possible to answer the question of how long ticks live without food - for quite a long time, some species even for several years. They owe such extraordinary vitality to a sedentary lifestyle and a slowed metabolic process. Next, we will look at the most common types of ticks.
How does the pest bite?
Nature has endowed the tick with a very clever device for drinking blood. The proboscis is normally covered with dense mandibles. When trying to bite the victim, the mandibles open, and the proboscis is shown outward, on both sides of which there are sharp spines. Outwardly, the proboscis resembles a chainsaw. Parallel to the proboscis and slightly in front, two razor-sharp pincers begin to move, cutting through the skin and paving the way for the proboscis, which is securely fixed on the victim's body with the help of thorns. In addition, saliva is secreted during the bite, which pain relieves. All the time while the female is feeding, she lays eggs.
Tick-borne Encephalitis
It is a big mistake for people to think that a certain type of tick is capable of infecting. In fact, any member of these parasites can carry infection. Encephalitis is the most common disease that can be contracted from a tick bite. Fatal cases are common. It seems that in the age of modern technology, man has learned to identify potentially dangerous insects, but not in this case.
What does an encephalitis tick look like? Nobody can say for sure, because outwardly it cannot be determined. A person, when a tick is found on himself, often gives in to panic, and this behavior will only aggravate the situation. It is enough to know how long ticks live without a proboscis and a head to understand the mechanism of their behavior. After the correct removal of the aforementioned body parts, the tick will die and no longer be able to harm anyone.
Tick protection
In our time, modern industry has established the production of many means - repellents that are able to protect humans and pets from tick attacks. At the same time, you can pick up drugs for both adults and children. As a rule, the products are available in the form of sprays, which simplifies their use, it is enough to spray them on clothes. It should also be noted some folk remedies that scare off parasites. Due to their high sensitivity, the parasites catch unpleasant odors at a distance of several meters. Therefore:
- Ticks cannot tolerate the odors of many plants, including geraniums, marigolds and lavender. Going into nature, it is enough to put fragments of these plants in your pockets.
- Essential oils from the same plants have the same beneficial effect. To scare off parasites, it is enough to lightly apply them to the wrists and clothes.
- To protect yourself from the negative consequences of a tick bite, it is better to go to a special institution and get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. This disease is considered the most dangerous and most common.
Ixodid tick
This type of tick is most often a carrier of encephalitis, the name of the disease described above. Representatives of these parasites live, as a rule, in humid places. These include the banks of rivers, lakes, streams, caves, forest ravines, shady meadows and other similar areas. But the number of insects is slowly growing and increasing, this is due to the peculiarities of reproduction. The female ixodid tick can be ready for conception only after it is fed with fresh blood. How long do ticks live in anticipation of this moment? From a couple of months to several years. These arachnids have a hard but mobile chitinous cover, due to which they are able to increase in size tens of times.
What happens to a tick when it gets drunk on blood
The tick sucks blood for several reasons - to continue development, to replenish stocks, to lay eggs. The larvae live in the soil where they developed in the egg. Waiting for the victim to drink blood. Most often these are rodents, reptiles, amphibians. At the end of the meal, it falls to the ground, sheds, turns into a nymph. To move to the next stage of development, blood is needed again.
Blood drunk mite
A fertilized female will not be able to lay eggs until there is enough blood in her body. In the process of feeding, her body inflates, increases to 1-2 cm. The female becomes clumsy, vulnerable. The main goal of the eaten female is to get to the soil, to lay eggs.
Does the tick die after drinking blood - the male, yes, the female does not immediately - as soon as she completes her mission of laying eggs. The re-adult does not bite.
Argas mite
Representatives of this species of arthropods have many features that set them apart from other parasites. They are often called soft mites due to their loose body cover. They live most often in dark closed places, caves, hollows, grottoes, gorges. They lead an active nocturnal lifestyle and attack mammals (including humans) at this time of day.
Throughout its life cycles, the argas mite feeds on blood. You will be surprised to know how long ticks live without food - up to fifteen years! This is hard to believe, but the fact remains. Representatives of this type of parasite are considered centenarians. Under good living conditions, argas mites can live twenty-five years or more. But the worst thing is how long ticks live, keeping a dangerous infection in themselves - about ten years!
Description and lifestyle
The tick has a difficult childhood. He grows up without a mother, because she dies, giving life to a new generation. And no wonder: she lays 1.7 thousand larvae! However, few people survive to adulthood.
The tick is constantly experiencing hunger pangs. How many times a day do you eat? Tick - only three times in a lifetime. Let the meals last for several days.
He was not born to fly, walk or even crawl! During its life, a tick can independently overcome a maximum of 10 meters. But he knows how to wait well. He hunts like this: he sits on a blade of grass and waits. It happens for months. The tick does not see, because it does not have eyes (we are considering a tick from the genus Ixodes - the main vector of encephalitis), but it distinguishes smells. For this, it has special organs on its forelegs.
The mite often hunts in the grass along forest paths. It smells good there, because people and animals are constantly walking around. Only it is usually too fast, and such “fast food” can be difficult to catch. But the tick feels warm. And when someone stops nearby, he crawls onto the owner.
The larva mite chooses small animals - mice, moles or birds. He sucks, drinks blood for 3–8 days, and when he is full, falls to the ground. And then there is a transformation. The larva grows, two more are added to its six legs, and it becomes a nymph.
As in ancient times, a forest nymph sits in a clearing and waits for sacrifices. And the forest sacrifices to her the hares and squirrels that are nearby. The nymph gets into the animal's fur and dines again for 3-11 days.
from the original 6 mm to 15 (take a dog tick of the genus Ixodes). Males, on the other hand, need blood only to maintain their own life. Please note: ticks do everything possible so that the person does not even feel that they have been bitten. There is no pain, since, penetrating the skin, the bloodsucker treats the wound with an anesthetic substance.
And here it is important to emphasize that the tick bite itself is harmless. Problems arise only if the bloodsucker has been infected.Tick-borne encephalitis, borreliosis, or Lyme disease, typhus and relapsing tick-borne typhus, piroplasmosis virus is the main list of ailments. However, it is difficult to blame the tick for anything: the disease came from the previous owner or mother.
Ticks are fatalists. They do not choose their soul mate, making up a list of qualities in advance: “she should be beautiful, smart, with a sense of humor”. Fate brings them together: only a couple who meet on the same host can create a family. In love, ticks do not know the limit: the male, having fertilized the female, dies, because he gave all his strength.
The tick passes its difficult life path in a maximum of eight years. In the fall, he burrows into the fallen leaves and there, numb, waits out the winter.
Ticks, which are widespread in central Russia, live in the forest among foliage and in garden plots, that is, wherever there is any planting of plants. They belong to the order of small arachnids (Latin Acarina), a subclass of arthropods. The size of the tick before the bite is usually 0.4-0.5 mm, sometimes it can reach 3 mm.
The body of the parasite consists of 2 parts and 6 pairs of appendages: 4 of them are legs, a pair are pedipalps, and the frontmost ones are chelicerae, similar to pincers, form a cutting-stabbing mouth, which is clearly visible in an enlarged photo of a common tick.
The danger of tick bites is that they instantly pierce the skin along with the proboscis and head, then begin to suck blood, which a person cannot always understand that he was bitten by a tick because of its small size. And only when the parasite swells up from the blood drunk, it increases and becomes noticeable on the body. Then the victim, having found a tick, can begin measures to remove it and treat the bitten site.
Therefore, it is better to know in advance after what time the symptoms of a tick bite appear in a person in order to take measures and clarify the possibility of infection from him with any infections.
Scabies mite
Representatives of this type of mites are the causative agents of an unpleasant disease - scabies. If we consider the full life cycle of the itch mite, it becomes clear that the human body acts as an intermediate host. This type of tick lives next to humans and pets, attacks at different times of the day. When in contact with the skin, the proboscis "drills" tunnels for movement and receiving food, which causes irritation and itching of the skin. The scabies mite does not tolerate high humidity and low temperatures. Such conditions are capable of ruining him within a day, although their life expectancy is already extremely short. Two weeks is how long ticks live under human skin. It may seem very few, but do not forget about the large number of offspring left behind.
Tick-borne encephalitis
Disease poses a particular danger to humans tick-borne encephalitis
... Precisely for humans, because most animals tolerate this disease even without obvious clinical manifestations. According to statistics, out of 100 people who have applied with tick bites, about 10 are infected with this particular virus. Encephalitis is a terrible disease that leads to damage to the central nervous system and the motor center of a person, as a result of which paralysis can develop, and the outcome can be long-term disability or even death. It is considered comforting that even in places of increased accumulation of ticks, no more than 5% of individuals are infected.
Tick-borne encephalitis may not manifest itself in any way even up to 25 days, on average, the incubation period lasts from one to two weeks. Tick-borne encephalitis manifests itself with the following symptoms:
- high temperature (up to 40 °);
- nausea and vomiting;
- acute headache;
- joint, muscle and throat pain;
- diarrhea;
- sweating;
- general weakness.
Basically, the disease manifests itself immediately in an acute form, but sometimes the period of exacerbation is preceded by a state of general weakness and malaise. In any case, if after a tick bite you began to be bothered by the above symptoms, then immediately consult a doctor, as self-medication can be deadly.
The disease can go away completely without consequences, but paresis, paralysis, muscle atrophy, as well as a significant decrease in intelligence and even the development of epilepsy are possible.
However, you can protect yourself from this unpleasant disease.
Prevention of tick-borne encephalitis, anti-tick agents
First, when going out into nature, you need to think over your outfit so that as few open areas of the body as possible remain. Be sure to wear a cap on your head.
Secondly, it is very desirable to treat clothes and open areas of the body with special agents that repel parasitic ticks. You can purchase one of the following drugs:
- "Off! Extreme ",
- "Biban",
- "Daffy - Taiga",
- "Gardeks aerosol extreme",
- "Gall-RET" or "Gal-RET-kl",
- "DETA - VOKKO",
- "Reftamide maximum".
You can also buy so-called acaricidal drugs that kill ticks, only in this case, remember that their contact with the skin is unacceptable, it can be:
- bar "Pretix",
- aerosol "Reftamid taiga",
- aerosol "Picnic - Antiklesch",
- "Tornado - Anti-tick",
- aerosol "Fumitox - anti-mite",
- aerosol "Permanon",
- aerosol "Gardeks - anti-mite".
It is advisable to postpone the camping trip until the hottest months, when the ticks are less active. But in any case, it is best to burn out the vegetation around the tent, as well as under it.
Coming from the forest, be sure to inspect your body and clothes, as well as pets that walked with you for lurking bloodsuckers.
Tick-borne encephalitis vaccination
The ideal way of protection can be considered only vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis, which is done in three stages. It is best to start vaccination in winter or early spring, so that by the time insects are active in the body, immunity can be developed. The time interval between the first and second vaccination should be from 1 to 7 months (preferably at least 5-7 months). The third vaccination is given a year after the first was given. Revaccination should be done every three years. There is also an emergency vaccination in the spring and summer, which takes place in two stages (two weeks after the first, the second vaccination is given).
There is only one contraindication to vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis - an individual intolerance to egg white.
Be vigilant and take the necessary precautions when going out into nature.
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Ear mites
Usually, our four-legged pets, dogs and cats are attacked by this type of tick, much less often - humans. These parasites enter our homes by clinging to shoes, clothes, vegetables, fruits and everything that we bring from the street. If you are wondering how long ticks live on clothes, then you do not exclude the possibility of carrying a parasite on yourself. As a rule, the human body is not suitable for the normal existence of arthropods, which are much more comfortable for them in the ears of pets. Ear mites are not uncommon and behave like subcutaneous or iscoid mites. Their average life expectancy is no more than two months.
Development
The gray ixodid tick goes through 4 stages of development:
- Egg;
- Larva;
- Nymph;
- Imago.
Development cycle of the gray mite
The transition to a higher level occurs through a single meal. This feature explains why ticks drink blood. Only the first stage (eggs) is not dangerous.
On average, the parasite lives for about 4 years. The main purpose of its existence is to find a source of power.The male is constantly looking for the female for fertilization, and she is looking for warm-blooded animals for laying eggs. How long a tick drinks the blood of a person or animal, so much it lays eggs.
Demodex mite
No matter how hard we try to protect ourselves from ticks, in fact, they are under our noses in the truest sense of the word! Do not be afraid and make attempts to cleanse them, you still will not succeed.
These subcutaneous mites, demodexes, feed on keratinized skin. For a healthy person, they do not pose any threat, but once the immune system is weakened, at the same moment the demodexes begin to make their way deeper into the skin, causing irritation, hair loss, and more. A subcutaneous mite can be infected from an animal, through personal hygiene products, as well as through direct contact with a sick person. The life cycle of this parasite is short, as is its overall duration. Two months is how long demodex mites live.
How to deal with ticks?
If you have to deal with representatives of this class, you must immediately take appropriate action. House mites that live in dust and linen thrive best in warm, humid environments. You can get rid of parasites with regular ventilation, which will help lower the temperature and relative humidity in the apartment.
Insects die if the air humidity is less than 40%; for this, special dehumidifiers can be used. Regular, high-quality cleaning with thorough cleaning of floors, even in hard-to-reach places, will help to quickly reduce the pest population. It is imperative to clean upholstered furniture, carpets, toys made of textile materials, and it is best to get rid of them altogether.
Mites that live on the human body choose for themselves those places where there is an abundant secretion of sebum. To deprive parasites of a favorable habitat and reproduction, it is necessary to constantly observe the rules of hygiene, use soap and special lotions that inhibit the activity of the sebaceous glands. Many who have heard about subcutaneous parasites do not know if ticks can live in an apartment, outside the human body.
Insects leave their shelters in search of a mating partner, at such times the owner can dry himself with a towel or sleep. The adult remains on the tissue and waits for the next contact with a potential victim. It is possible to get rid of subcutaneous mites only by complex methods, including the use of antibiotic therapy, physiotherapy procedures and topical drugs.
To get rid of the blood-sucking members of the class, you can only remove them from the surface of the body. To unhook the bloodsucker, special medical devices are used in the form of a handle with a loop, hooks, tweezers. If there are no auxiliary tools at hand, ordinary thread or any tweezers will do. The insect is grasped closer to the head and pulled out with gentle twisting movements. After the parasite is removed, it is placed in a container to be taken to a research laboratory, and the bite is treated with an antiseptic. Forest ticks can be potential carriers of encephalitis, so after removing it, you should definitely visit a doctor. It is categorically impossible to crush a tick, as this increases the chance of infection. To exclude a possible infectious infection, it is necessary to pass blood tests 10 and 21 days after the bite.
Bed mite
This arthropod species got its name from its habitat. They can also be called house mites, because they live in dust, floor coverings, pillows, mattresses. The mite itself does not pose any harm to us, because it feeds exclusively on keratinized skin scales.The excrement and remains of the parasite, which can cause allergic reactions in many people, are of great danger.
That is why wet cleaning and sun-roasting of carpets are an excellent method to combat their numbers. The lifespan of a bed mite does not exceed four months.
If the tick got drunk and fell off at home
A situation often happens when the ixodic parasite, having drunk enough blood, fell off before a person noticed it. In this situation, a small inflammation and a red spot at the site of the bite, minor itching will help to detect an attack. The tick will fall off as soon as it fully satisfies its need for food.
If a tick got drunk and fell off at home, it will not be able to continue its development further due to the lack of soil and other necessary conditions. In addition, it is recommended to take the parasite to a laboratory in order to exclude the possibility of contracting a dangerous disease.
Spider mite
This type of mite does not cause any harm to humans; it infects indoor plants. It dwells, as a rule, in the lower part of the trunk, penetrating into it and feeding on sap. The plant quickly loses nutrients, dehydration sets in, but the plant does not die. The spider mite leaves a characteristic mark on the leaves: these are white spots with small cobwebs. Such parasites can live from a week to a month, depending on external factors, the main of which are temperature and humidity.
How long can they live
How long do they live? Today in the world there are more than 40 thousand species of ticks that live in different parts of our planet.
The full development cycle of ticks can range from one to several years, depending on the characteristics of climatic conditions and the amount of food.
Some species of these creatures can live more than 10-12 years in harsh desert conditions and all this time waiting for their prey.
These creatures are extremely hardy and can live for a very long time.
Ticks begin their "hunt" at a time when the ground and air warm up a little. Most often this is the month of April, when early spring comes. The peak of activity occurs on warm and sunny days, this is the end of spring until mid-summer. When the air temperature begins to drop, and this is approximately the beginning of September, then the activity becomes less.
The tick lives up to 25 years, namely, a species of agrass tick. How long does a tick live without food? A tick can starve for up to 14 years.
This question is often asked by people who have pets in their home. After all, the tick can unhook from the animal's fur and fall on the territory of the apartment. At first, he will hide and will wait for the next victim. This situation is especially dangerous when there are children in the house. It is almost impossible to find a tick in the house, but even if this happens, it must be thrown into boiling water so that it dies or burns.
Despite the fact that ticks live without prey for a very long time, in apartment conditions they quickly die. To exist, they need dampness and soil, which is not in the apartments.
A good method of fighting mites is to damp the house, keeping the apartment and bed linen clean at all times. In some cases, chemicals can be used to disinfect the space.
Security measures
How to protect yourself from meeting these parasites? It is enough to adhere to certain security measures. When traveling or hiking in tick habitats, wear closed shoes and high socks.
Try not to stay under the lush crowns of trees for a long time, and also avoid places with high humidity. If you have pets, remember to check them after every walk. Ticks tend to target areas with the least amount of hair, such as the inside of the ears and around the eyes. It is there that the vessels pass, to which it is convenient to suck. In veterinary pharmacies, you can find a large number of tick remedies.These are drops, collars soaked in medicine, as well as shampoos. Protection should not be neglected, because our health also depends on the safety of pets.
Precautions
Ticks carry serious diseases, and the causative agents of Lyme disease or tick-borne encephalitis can be found in their saliva. These infections are dangerous to the human body and can be fatal. Spending time in nature, it is better to protect yourself in advance. These precautions may include:
- light-colored clothing on which you can spot the parasite in time;
- do not leave open areas of the body, tuck the T-shirt into your pants, put on socks and closed shoes, and it is better to choose a jacket or sweatshirt with a hood;
- while walking, try to avoid tall grass;
- after you arrive home, wash all clothes or brush well and hang in a cool place;
- you can use acaricidal repellents, but they do not provide one hundred percent guarantee of protection against ticks;
- in the country, make sure that the grass on the lawns is low, do not leave branches and cuttings in heaps on the site.
And if you want to relax calmly, not think about parasites and just enjoy nature, then it makes sense to carry out treatment for ticks in the country. The Biotrix insecticide service will carry out the treatment, and you, without fear of ticks, will be able to rest and work throughout the summer season. This activity, aimed at destroying parasites, must be done before the start of warm days. Then the experts will guarantee you safety from ticks at your summer cottage.
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