9 common myths about ticks
Ticks do not have natural enemies in nature, so they are gradually becoming more and more. And along with this increasingly and myths about ticks, because many panicky afraid of contracting encephalitis and in every small insects see the tick. Most of these myths, we will look at this article.
#1. Ticks need human blood
Not necessarily. Yes, ticks need blood to pass from larva to nymph stage, and then into an adult. Also, they need blood to the female can lay eggs. But they prefer to suck the blood from the forest dwellers (all rodents, squirrels, etc.), but the person chosen much less frequently.
#2. Mite can be found only in the forest
Not. Many people think of the ticks only for a hike in the forest, although with the same success it can be found on the lawn in the city park. Especially they love places where vegetation zone change: e.g., forest region, a small clearing to the deciduous woods, roadsides. Also mites love heat and humidity, but do not like direct sunlight, so the higher the grass, the better the conditions for mite.
#3. Ticks are found only in May-June
Too true. In areas with mild climate mite can be found in the period from late March until late October. But due to the fact that the mites do not like the sun in the hottest days of summer (usually the end of June and July) found the tick problematic.
And this myth was born thanks to the fact that it was in May and June, most people choose the nature or cottage, catching on these parasites.
#4. Pliers with trees desantiruyutsya
Of course no. In fact, the tick does not like to climb high, more often than his height limit in the area of 1.5 - 2 meters above ground level. Ticks are very tenacious legs and prefer to sit on the grass, waiting for the moment when the victim itself will come to him. And still on the front legs of the tick has a radar that will be envied by any military: mites feel about 50 scents, including the smell of sweat and carbon dioxide that we breathe out with you.
#5. If you pull out the tick during the day, it is impossible to catch
Stupidity! If the tick is a carrier of the infection and its saliva contains encephalitis virus (or something else), then the process of infection will occur at exactly the moment when you tick bite and inject saliva. And even if you remove the tick in an hour, then the risk of infection is.
#6. If the fat to drip on the tick, it will come out himself
Partly true. Quite often you can hear is the advice that you need to tick drop of vegetable oil, it starts to choke and get out by himself. Yes, it often works, but before that in the tick starts choking and vomiting (all it gets into your blood), resulting in the risk of infection only increase, though a mite already got.
#7. Mite is easy to detect on the skin
Not entirely true. The larval stage of the tick size is about half a millimeter, about 1.5 mm in the nymph stage, so many pretty hard to see it. In addition, in the saliva of the tick there is a substance with properties anesthetic, which makes the bite painless and feel it is almost impossible.
#8. The mite can get under the skin and lay eggs
Not. But this myth was born thanks to the confusion - yes, some species of mites can get under the skin. For example, so does the itch mite that lives and multiplies in the human skin and makes the hole, resulting in causing intense itching. But mites bloodsuckers we're talking about so do not know how - they simply would suffocate under the skin.
#9. The tick bites the victim immediately as soon as is
Not. Mites are quite small parasites, and in some places it is difficult to bite through our skin. Therefore, they can spend hours crawling on us, trying to get to the most delicate areas, and it is usually the armpits, groin, area between the buttocks, a little less scalp and behind the ears. Therefore, after returning from a walk in nature, take a shower and inspect your body for ticks.
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