Some basic info on ticks

The tick is a small arachnid from the Ixodoinea (hard tick) family and they are external parasites that can carry many dangerous diseases and even cause death.

- The tick season: usually occurs in the summer season but a sudden rise in temperature can trigger the tick season in spring (April). Ticks are usually more active outdoors.

- Tick's habitat: most commonly found in tall grass where they wait for their host to pass so they can attach themselves. Ticks are found commonly in woods and forests, especially where there are deer trails and human tracks, as well around water and meadows.

- Preferred hosts: Ticks are hematophagous insects that feed themselves on the blood of mammals, birds and occasionaly reptiles and amphibians;

- How do ticks detect their host: by the host's heat and carbon dioxide;

- How do they attach themselves to the host: the tick uses their cutting mandibles and their feeding tubes to attach to their host. Most commonly they attach to the host by physical contact, but they can jump or fly on the host as well.

- Diseases caused by ticks: Lyme disease, Q fever, Colorado tick fever, babesiosis, tick.borne meningoencephalitis, tularemia, tick-borne relapsing fever, canine jauntice, etc;

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- What are seed ticks?: seed ticks rae the six-legged stage of newborn ticks. There are documented attacks of 30,000 seed ticks at a time on pets. This can cause sever anemia, paralysis and even death in mammals (elderly dogs, puppies and cats are at high risk). Infestations with seed tick is usually detected when thousands are present on the animal;

- Tick types: the blacklegged or deer tick can be found were the density of deer population is high (east North America). Lyme disease is more common in areas where there is a larger number of deers (and deer ticks). The American dog tick very common in North American and can carry the Rocky Mountain spotted fever (but not Lyme disease).The Western black-legged tick can be found in the western part of North America and can carry both Lyme disease and the Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The Paralysis tick can be found on the eastern Australian coast and can cause paralysis, tick typhus and allergic reactions. The Lone Star tick (has a white dot or lone star on the back) is associated with transmission of Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness in humans.

How to get rid of ticks? Read here.

Read here if you want to know more about flea's life stages.

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