![]() ![]() Treating all clothing with a spray or soak product containing 0.5% permethrin might help repel ticks and other pests. Deer ticks will often wait on the tips of these plants to attach themselves to an animal or person walking by.įor personal protection, it is important to wear clothing that provides full coverage - such as long socks, long-sleeved shirts, and pants - while hiking, camping, or traveling in an area known to have deer ticks. When walking on trails in these regions, try to walk in the center of the trail and avoid brushing against foliage. ![]() brush and overgrown areas with high humidity and moisture.If possible, avoid areas in which deer ticks live, including: However, a person can sustain a bite at any time. Other infectious germsĭeer ticks may also spread other harmful germs, including:ĭeer ticks are more active in the warmer months, from April to September. Without treatment, the disease may spread to the person’s joints, heart, and nervous system. Most cases of Lyme disease are treatable with a few weeks of antibiotics. Learn how to identify a Lyme disease rash here. The rash may have a bull’s-eye or target-like appearance - that is, it may have a red, brown, or purple center with a ring around it. The rash is circular, expanding at the site of the bite around 3–30 days afterward. Lyme disease also causes a distinct rash called erythema migrans in about 70–80% of cases. Some symptoms of Lyme disease include headaches, fever, and general fatigue. Infected deer ticks can pass on the bacteria that cause it, such as Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii. The disease spreads predominantly through deer tick bites. Lyme diseaseĪccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S.” The sections below will discuss these diseases in more detail. ![]() Afterward, there may be some irritation around the site of the bite.ĭepending on the bacteria they harbor in their bodies when they latch onto a new host, deer ticks can spread multiple diseases. The body of a feeding tick will stick out of the skin. A female’s torso may also become more rust colored after ingesting blood.Īlthough the body of a blacklegged tick tends to be flat, after eating, it fills up and expands.ĭeer ticks will partially burrow into the skin and latch onto their host to feed. ![]() Females have a two-tone, lighter brown torso. Males are darker and generally have a uniform brown color, with a whitish strip around the outside of the abdomen. These are only about the size of a poppy seed.īoth adults and nymphs have eight long, black legs that extend from a round, bulb shaped abdomen. Immature ticks, or nymphs, can also bite. Eliminate dense plant beds close to your home.Deer ticks, scientifically known as Ixodes scapularis, exist primarily in the eastern and north-central parts of the United States.Ī similar species called the western blacklegged tick, or Ixodes pacificus, exists mainly in the western parts of the U.S.īlacklegged ticks are only about the size of a sesame seed.Make sure that clotheslines are high enough off the ground so that clothes hanging from the line don’t touch the vegetation.Keep garbage in tightly sealed bins, away from your home.Remove woodpiles, brush, and leaf litter from the exterior of your home.Cut back wooded areas around your property to give ticks fewer places to hide.Cut the grass around your property short to eliminate hiding areas for ticks.They must drop off onto their host to feed. Once fed, they remove themselves from their host and molt to nymphs on the ground. When larvae emerge from their eggs, they feed on the blood of small mammals and birds. A female tick lays up to 3,000 eggs on the ground.Tick species like deer ticks, American dog ticks, and brown dog ticks can be found throughout the world but tend to flourish in areas with warm or humid climates.Because they feed on the blood of different animals, they are major vectors of disease in humans and other mammals, spreading Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, and many other disease-causing agents.They can satisfy all their nutritional needs on a diet of blood.Ticks go through three major life stages: larval, nymphal, and adult, and require a different host in each stage. ![]()
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