The Effect of Ticks on Pets and Owners

We have probably read about how ticks can affect our dear pets at some point in their lives, but do we know that pets are of different types and they have different effects?

I feel it is important that pet owners understand the categories of pets and their impact so that when we see them in our environment, we know what to be afraid of as well as the next step to be taken.

Ticks are parasites, parasites survive by depending on another (which is the host). The only way a tick can survive is by feeding off the blood of a person or an animal.

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On several occasions, ticks are confused for insects, but they are not insects, but arachnids. Ticks have eight legs, with an oval body that swells after they have eaten.

Let's check out the life stages of Ticks.

The life stages of ticks belong to four categories; egg, six-legged, eight-legged nymph, and the adult stage. After the egg has hatched, the tiny larvae feed on an appropriate host.

The larva then grows into a larger nymph. The nymph feeds on a host and proceeds to molt into a bigger adult. Male and female ticks both look for a host, They feed on it, and sometimes the female lays eggs after eating.

Ticks find their host by staying in strategic places, like the tip of grasses, and shrubs, when a person picks them up on clothes when walking by. Ticks cannot fly or jump, they can only crawl.

When a tick is found on the scalp of a person for instance, it didn't fly there, it crawled from the bottom to the top.

There are hundreds of ticks around the world, all carrying different types of viruses and bacteria. After a tick attaches itself to a person's skin, it can transmit those viruses and bacteria to a host, resulting in an infection.

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Generally, ticks are categorized into two, hard and soft ticks.

Hard Ticks (Ixodidae): Ticks that fall under this category begin as an egg laid by an adult female tick. Once the egg hatches, a larvae would emerge, and then feed on a smaller bird or mammal which is their host.

After a feeding process, it would drop to the ground and go through a process of molting, emerging as a nymph.

After that feeding process, they look for a larger host to feed on, afterwards they fall to the ground as adults. The life cycle of hard Ticks generally lasts for one to two years depending on the species of the tick.

The bite is often a painless process, with a feeding process that lasts for as long as several hours, days, and sometimes even weeks.

The other category is Soft ticks, which are also called Argasidae, they also begin as an egg and then hatch into a larvae. They feed and molt into a nymph. They go through different processes of growth, requiring a blood meal as they go through each phase.

The life cycle of a soft tick lasts from months to years, the bite is almost painless and difficult to know it was there. The bite process lasts for about 15-30 minutes.

There are several existing ticks, but let's go through the most common ones that exist;

Lone-star tick is an aggressive type of tick, people are more at risk of biting from this type of tick from early spring until late fall.

CDC says a bite from this type of tick could result in an allergy to red meat. Human ehrlichiosis, heartland virus disease, tularemia, southern tick-associated rash illness and
Bourbon virus disease.

American dog tick: Its body is dark brown, females have an off-white shield, while adult males have a more mottled appearance.
It is the primary vector that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Brown dog tick mostly affects dogs, but humans are not completely exempted from the bite either. Experts have found them in existence all over the world.
They can also transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Groundhog Tick is also known as woodchuck tick. It is the primary vector for powassan virus disease.

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Some ticks are known to cause Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, tularemia and several others.

Try your best to avoid areas where the tick resides as natural habitats, such as woody, bushy, or wooded areas. If it is impossible for you to stay away from those areas, then you should use repellants constantly.

Every time you go out and get back inside, you need to also check for the presence of ticks on your clothes, and shower to be sure none has clung to your skin.

A pair of fine-tipped tweezers can be used to take out the tick, once it has been taken out, the surface should be cleaned with soap and water and the tick flushed down the toilet drain.

Ticks are dangerous to both pets and their owners, so it is best to prevent them from biting, reporting a case of bite that comes with a fever to a doctor or vet is highly significant.

References

ticks#summary/medicalnewstoday

Lyme disease/ticks

depth/tick-species/art

ticks-and-the-diseases-they-spread

pest-control/common-ticks

health.state.mn.us/diseases