Where ticks live

Ticks belong to the largest group of arachnids, numbering more than 40 thousand species. The most dangerous of them are ixodic, which can be carriers of serious infectious diseases. It is in order to reduce the likelihood of encountering such a parasite and the risk of infection that all people should know where ticks live and during which period they are most dangerous.

Where ticks live: species and distribution

Forest ticks They are small in size, reaching a length of 2-5 mm in a hungry state. Such arachnids belong to a subclass of arthropods and live almost throughout the world, except for Antarctica. The variety of parasite species differs in the place of life and the nature of nutrition.

Ixodid ticks, numbering almost 700 species, prefer to settle in moist forests, densely overgrown with grass glades, on low trees and shrubs. In their nature ration consists of plant debris, soil fungi and small arthropods, but they like to drink the blood of animals and people.

There are other types of such parasites:

• gamazovye, reds and argus tickswhich are also capable of consuming human and mammalian blood;
• dust mites (saprophytes), whose lives pass in residential premises together with people, prefer to eat dead particles of the epidermis;
• subcutaneous (demodexes) - live in the upper layer of the human epidermis and at the base of hair follicles, they are of the smallest size, so you can only see them under a microscope.

Ixodid tick habitats

Optimal conditions for life, where ticks are found:

• regions with high humidity, at least 80%;
• slopes warmed by the sun with dense grass and bushes up to 1 m high;
• the main habitat of ticks: forest edges, clearings, ravines with dense grass stand;
• in the shade of deciduous trees, fern thickets, among small young trees (aspen, hazel, etc.);
• most often parasites live in coastal thickets near rivers, ponds, lakes and streams, where forest animals come to a watering place;
• soil surface with fallen leaves or mowed grass.

Interesting!

"Bloodsuckers" can settle on stumps and fallen dry trees, so a tourist should think carefully before sitting down to rest in the forest for the first stump.

The most unsuitable habitats for ticks: hills, areas without grass and plants, dry undergrowth in a pine forest, etc.

Types of ixodid ticks: in which forests do they live?

Among the ixodic parasite family, there are some species that select different habitat zones:

• Meadow ticks genus Dermacentor - carriers of many viral infections can infect humans and even pets (piroplasmosis in dogs) Distributed in deciduous and mixed forests of Europe and Siberia, they prefer glades, forest edges, meadows and pastures, water meadows.
• The genus Hyalomma and its representatives prefer to settle in the steppe zone, live in the southern regions of Russia, Crimea, Bulgaria and on the Mediterranean coast, in Asian countries. They can spread hemorrhagic fever.
• Birch mites belonging to the Haemaphysalis family are moisture- and heat-loving parasites, their habitat: Crimea, Transcaucasia and the Far East, Altai, southern Western Siberia and Transbaikalia. They settle in birch-deciduous, coniferous-deciduous, in aspen and birch forests. They can be carriers of encephalitis and ricketstosis.
• The brown dog tick of the genus Rhipicephalus prefers coastal areas with high humidity: the Black Sea coast. The object of his attack is often dogs, but the spread dog ticks happens very quickly because of their ability to breed in a person’s home or dog kennel, where they can arrange entire colonies. They are carriers of Marseilles fever.

Hunting season "bloodsuckers"

The period of activity of parasites It starts when the soil warms up to + 5- + 7 ° С, which occurs in April in the middle zone of Russia, when the first greens appear and buds open on birches. Waking up after winter, they crawl to the surface.

Ticks are located on trees, in grass, shrubs. Their number sharply increases by the second half of May and remains as high as possible until the end of June. Activity depends on temperature and weather conditions, humidity. They do not like hot and dry air, so they go hunting in the morning and evening hours. On hot days, they are located in the damp grass, with cloudy weather looking for places drier.

On a note!

The first season of active "hunting" falls in the spring and early summer, after which there is a lull. In such a period, ticks have already eaten and “rest” until the beginning of August. The duration of this period depends on the weather: if the beginning of summer is cool and humid, then the “spring season” becomes longer, and shorter when dry and hot.

Autumn outburst of activity, during which ticks try to get enough before winteringbegins in September and continues until the first days of November, when the cold comes.

Hunting process

Forest ticks live in grass or trees, climbing to small heights and tracking down their prey. With the help of the paws on which the organs of smell are located, they sniff the surrounding air. The smell of sweat of an animal or a person walking along a path, they are able to smell from a distance of 10-12 m.

On a note!

Some mistakenly believe that such parasites fall from trees in the forest on passing tourists. However, in fact, they are not able to climb a large distance from the ground, usually ticks can be at a height of up to 0.5-1 m.

As the “booty” approaches, they move over to it, clinging tightly to the hooks and suction cups. Then they begin to climb up and look for a place for a bite, usually choosing areas of the head or neck in animals, in people - areas with thin skin and close proximity of blood vessels.

Both males and females go hunting, and the latter are more voracious, because for them the blood of mammals is not just food, but also affects the possibility of successful breeding.

Males dig into the skin, drink blood, and then quickly fall, so a person may not notice them. But the females, sucking very tightly, sit and absorb blood for many hours and days. When piercing the skin, the tick secretes anesthetic saliva, which glues the proboscis to the wound for better attachment.

Are there ticks in the city

The common belief is that city dwellers may not be afraid tick bites, refute the data of scientists and statistics of injured people. In every village and even a large metropolis there are park areas, squares and grassed areas. It is in such places that ticks live in the summer.Scientists cannot answer the question of how they get there, but the sanitary services find them there.

Parasites prefer to settle not only in low bushes and trees in parks, but also in lawn grass. However, unlike forest ticks, in large cities there are practically no individuals infected with viral infections.

But in small settlements where green areas are located near forests, fields with cattle or summer cottages, ticks can be picked up almost on the road or next to the lawn, and there is little danger from them, but still exists.

Why are ticks and their bites dangerous?

Among the ixodid species living in the Russian Federation, 2 species are dangerous for humans:

• European forest, distributed in Europe, except for the northernmost regions, in North Africa and the European part of Russia;
• taiga tickwhose habitat is in the middle and southern taiga zones.

These parasites are carriers of dangerous infectious diseases: viral encephalitis, Lyme disease or borreliosis, ehrlichiosissome types of fevers. However, this does not mean that every bitten tick can infect a person.

Important!

According to statistics, the percentage of "bloodsuckers" who transmit infections is only 1.5-5%. However, it is impossible to distinguish a healthy tick from an infected one, and due to the long incubation period of such diseases, the first symptoms of the disease can appear only after 5-14 days.

Regions with the most ticks having a high risk of disease:

• borreliosis - Moscow and Moscow region, Krasnodar region;
• dangerous areas regarding encephalitis - North-West of the Russian Federation, the Volga region, Karelia, the region of the Central District, the Far East, most cases are registered in Vladivostok and the region;
• hemorrhagic fever - Volgograd, Rostov region, the Caucasus.

According to Rospotrebnadzor, this year you can find regions where Russia does not encephalitis ticks. These are the central regions of the European part, including Moscow, Tula, Kursk, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Lipetsk, Tambov, Murmansk regions, the Southern and North Caucasian federal districts, Magadan region, Kamchatka region, Yakutia and Chukotka.

How tick infections spread

Ixodid ticks become carriers of infections after their larvae or nymphs drink blood from wild animals (small rodents, etc.), which are carriers of serious diseases. The encephalitis virus, first getting into the stomach of a parasite from a sick rodent or other mammals, spreads throughout the body and accumulates in the salivary glands and eggs.

The pathogens of infectious diseases are transmitted from the infected female to all offspring. Human infection occurs during a bite, when a tick injects saliva with the virus under the skin.

Important!

You should also be aware that the same parasite can be a carrier of several infectious diseases that fall into a person due to his bite.

Safety and tick protection measures

When going for a picnic or a walk in the forest, where ticks can be found, it should be remembered that they are able to crawl only in the direction from bottom to top, and select the appropriate equipment:

• clothes are worn light, as closed as possible with long sleeves;
• trousers should be tucked into socks or shoes, cuffs should fit tightly on the hands so that the parasites could not creep closer to the body;
• they put a hood or a protective headdress on their heads: although the mites do not fall from the trees, they can live there for a while, falling on the hair while tilting the body or sitting, and then go down to the neck and suck in to absorb blood;
• use for processing clothes repellent meansthat repel parasites by smell;
• avoid glades in the forest with tall grass, shrubs, fallen trees and stumps;
• choose a place for a picnic where there are no ticks: with low dry grass, in a pine forest without undergrowth, etc.
• after returning home, you should carefully inspect all clothing and skin for the presence of parasites.

Information about where ticks can live and how they get on human skin will be useful for all people who are going for a walk in a forest or park, to a summer house or picnic. Compliance with all safety rules will help to avoid the attack of “bloodsuckers” and possible infection with serious infectious diseases.