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Tick
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Behavior:
About 75 percent of all tick-bite incidents take place between May and September,
the period of greatest activity. A bite by an infected tick, particularly by those
in the nymph stage, can go unnoticed.
Ticks climb up long grass blades or low brush and attach themselves to animals or
people passing through the vegetation. They crawl under clothing and hide under
fringes of hair. Some ticks have an uncanny ability to detect people up to 18 feet
away.
Ticks prefer cool, moist wetlands where they have a better chance of finding an
animal host. Ticks prefer to live in the woods. They are also found, to a lesser
degree, along the edges of woods, where woods meet fields or lawns.
Technically speaking, ticks don't bite. Using their jaws, they embed their bodies
into the skin. They are bloodsuckers and also inject saliva into the host.
Distinguising Marks:
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Tick nymphs are the size of a pinhead.
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Adult ticks when fully engorged are the size of a sesame seed.
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Ticks do not have wings and cannot jump.
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Life Cycle:
Ticks that may carry Lyme disease can bite during all three stages of their year-long
life cycle.
Disease & Damage:
Ticks are known to transmit 64 diseases including Lyme disease, Human Granulocytic
Ehrlichiosis (HGE), tick paralysis, tick fever and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Follow these tips to protect yourself from ticks:
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Wear light-colored socks and pants to help spot ticks.
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Tuck pant legs into socks to reduce risk of ticks clinging to skin.
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Wear proper footwear.
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Examine yourself and your children daily for ticks, no matter how time-consuming.
This is an excellent safeguard because infected ticks have to blood feed on a host
for a minimum of 24 hours before Lyme disease can be transmitted.
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Check clothing, gear and pets for ticks.
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Attached ticks should be removed with tweezers (preferably needle-nose). Grasp the
tick's head as close to the person's skin as possible and pull straight out, being
careful not to twist or squeeze the body. Twisting or squeezing can cause part of
the tick to remain embedded in the skin.
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Do not use alcohol, nail polish, hot matches, petroleum jelly or other materials
to remove ticks.
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If you would like more information or tips for removing ticks from your home, please
contact our
Consumer Relationship Center.
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