Good day! I regularly repeat to friends and acquaintances who are going out in nature that precautions against ticks should be taken. And I regularly hear in response that the season when the tick is active has already passed. Or that the weather is outside, which ticks do not like.
In my opinion, this is somewhat reckless. Of course, in winter you will not find a tick in the forest, but sometimes I come across the opinion that ticks attack people exclusively in the spring, and in summer you can already relax. This is not a completely correct opinion, and in my article I would like to argue with him. All details about tick activity - below!
The content of the article:
Tick activity
Nature is beautiful at any time of the year. But if in winter a person only threatens to freeze, then in the spring and summer all kinds of insects are activated.
One of the most dangerous is ticks. Tick activity is high in spring and summer. As soon as the sun begins to warm the earth and green foliage appears on the trees, they appear everywhere.
Big cities such as Moscow or St. Petersburg are no different in this regard. The period of tick activity in the Moscow Region begins already in the spring, and residents who are massively leaving the city should know what the threat of meeting with insects might be.
Caution Tick
The ticks themselves are not dangerous, but the diseases that they carry. In the Russian Federation, two species of tick have been recorded that carry such a formidable disease as tick-borne encephalitis.
- A taiga tick, the distribution zone is Siberia and the Far East.
- Dog tick, activity zone - European part of Russia, as well as European countries.
In addition to encephalitis, ticks can carry borreliosis, a dangerous disease for humans. You can never guess if a tick is infected. They are absolutely no different, and males, females, and even larvae can be carriers of the virus.
Infection of the insects themselves occurs when they feed from infected animals. Of course, not all ticks are infected, and even if you were bitten by an insect, it is not necessary that you become ill.
If you are bitten
Despite the increasing activity of ticks, in the warm season, an increasing number of people rush into the forests. They are attracted by fresh air, the opportunity to have fun in nature, pick berries and mushrooms.
But such walks can end with a bite. If the tick is infected, then the virus immediately enters the human blood. Several options are possible here:
- A person inoculated on time - in this case, the virus binds and the disease does not occur. The body will do just fine.
- A bitten person will receive antiviral drugs like Interferon on time - the disease also most likely will not develop.
- A person did not get vaccinated, did not seek medical help on time or has weak immunity - the disease develops rapidly.
But not everything is so scary. Despite the activity of flares and mass trips of people to the forest, the presence of the virus does not necessarily lead to the development of the disease. But this does not mean that there is no need to take measures in order to protect themselves from the bites of these insidious insects.
Where ticks live
Ticks can be found everywhere in the Russian Federation. Where there is forest, care must be taken. In addition to the Russian Federation, these insects live in the forests of China, as well as in European countries.
And, as you know, in spring the soil is most moistened after the winter snow melts. In addition to moisture, a necessary condition for the life and growth of ticks is the presence of living creatures on which they could feed.
Therefore, the most favorable habitats for them are forest edges, places where ferns grow, the banks of ponds and deciduous forests. The most important thing for a tick is the presence of tall grass, so recently cases of bites in the city have become more frequent.
For insects, it doesn't matter that there is no forest. If tall grass is present, that is enough for them. And human activity is not a hindrance. Therefore, it is necessary to cut the lawns, to prevent the appearance of areas with high vegetation and piling of cut branches.
Do not think that during a walk through the forest ticks may fall on your head. The highest place an adult can climb into is not more than 1.5 meters. Their usual habitat is grass.
When ticks are active
The season of tick activity begins from the moment when the soil warms up to 6-7 degrees. Therefore, the first cases of bites are recorded even in the month of April.
But the largest number of ticks appears in May and June. During this period, you should be especially careful and refuse hiking in the forest or take all necessary precautions.
The season of activity, the so-called secondary, falls at the end of August and warm September. Be that as it may, as soon as the temperature of the soil drops below 5 degrees, the mites disappear and fall into so-called hibernation until the next season.
The activity of ticks will resume again with renewed vigor the following spring, as soon as the warm spring sun begins to warm. And so in a circle.
Why a tick bite is dangerous Ticks are not all infected with dangerous viruses. But even if the insect is not a carrier of the disease, the bite can cause irritation or an allergic reaction. Therefore, it is clear that this is best avoided.
But still it is infected ticks that are especially dangerous. And not necessarily it will be tick-borne encephalitis. Scientists examined this problem and found that more than 60 types of diseases can be infected.
The danger is that a person can forget about the incident with a bite and decide that everything worked out. But the reaction may appear after two weeks. But, despite all the dangers, still the main cause of tick tick fear is tick-borne encephalitis.
The insidiousness of encephalitis
For those not particularly knowledgeable in medical terms, this is inflammation of the brain. Often fatal.If a person is bitten by a tick, then, simply by examining it, it is impossible to understand whether it is infected.
You have three days to see a doctor and administer immunoglobulin. Of course, you can’t say that now you definitely won’t get sick. But the fact that the disease will pass in a mild form and will not be fatal is for sure.
Get vaccinated
Advice for those whose lifestyle is associated with a frequent stay in forests and places with dense grass: get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis. It is necessary to be vaccinated when ticks have completely disappeared, the season of activity has passed and autumn has come.
As a rule, vaccinations can be done from November. Vaccination can be carried out in the summer. In this case, calculate the time so that at least 21 days elapse from the moment of vaccination to possible contact with insects. Especially beware of ticks during antibody production.
When ticks are active
Man is closely interconnected with nature. That is why we are so drawn to the forest, which is fraught with many dangers. Especially during the period when tick activity occurs.
These small bloodsuckers are not only disgusting in their appearance, they pose a real threat to people and animals. The insect can turn out to be infected and transmit the virus of a life-threatening disease to a person.
Tick development
The development of an adult insect takes place in several stages, which last about three years. But they are activated annually, as soon as the first rays of the spring sun appear. Even not completely snowing snow is not an obstacle for them, high humidity is the best condition for the active development of the tick.
More about the development:
- The female tick dies in the fall at the time of laying eggs. Usually they are in the body of a dead mother and only in spring go out in the form of larvae, eating maternal remains.
- In the first year, the larva, once outside the mother’s body, is already adapted to feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals and people. At this time, she is transformed into a nymph, after which she falls into hibernation.
- After the spring awakening, the nymph is again active and attacks her warm-blooded victims. Satiated, it falls into another hibernation.
- And only the next spring after awakening, the nymph turns into an adult insect.
Ticks are able to perfectly sense the places of the greatest concentration of people and animals, therefore, in such places there are most of them.
These are city parks and squares, forest glades, coastal green zones, pastures. Ticks are active throughout the entire warm period, but there is a peak in their activity.
The first tick activity
The first activity of ticks is observed at a time when the surface of the soil warms up by 6.7 degrees. That is why the first cases of bites are noted in late March, early April. They live on the surface of the soil, on the first sprouts of grass, on the branches of small bushes.
Bright sun rays and winds are not entirely favorable for him. For the same reason, in hot summer days, they hide in holes and only after rain, during moments of high humidity, can appear outside. Therefore, we can confidently say that the time of tick activity lasts from April to October.
The period of the highest activity (peak) of ticks
The bite of this parasitic insect, if it is infected with a virus, is extremely dangerous. The consequences are the most unpredictable. From paralysis and deafness to death.
Therefore, it is extremely important to know at what period the peak of tick activity occurs in order to, at least somehow, protect yourself and your loved ones. It is definitely difficult to answer, since the period of tick activity lasts almost until the first frost. But they are most active and aggressive from late April to early July.
They hide not only on branches of bushes. More suitable places are grass, roadsides, riverbanks. Ticks hide in the stems of the grass and in the branches of low shrubs, waiting for the next victim.
Therefore, we can confidently say that the most active parasites from late April to early July. At this time, you must be most careful.
After that, most of the ticks die, as the amount of nutrients in their body drops sharply. At this moment, they are no less aggressive than during the period when ticks are most active. Therefore, it is important to think about places for outdoor recreation and pick up clothes in which you go for walks.
What time of the day are ticks active
For this blood-sucking parasite, it makes no difference when to wait and attack the victim. This is not to say that during the day they are most active.
At night, insects also do not sleep, and continue to wait for their potential prey. It is important to remember that the lower the air temperature and the higher the humidity, the more favorable the conditions for tick attacks.
On sunny warm days, tick-borne activity decreases slightly. But this does not mean that during this period you can relax, believing that the tick hid in the shade, in holes. Some individuals remain on the stems of the grass and on the branches of trees, waiting for the next victim.
What month are ticks active
The activity of the tick, as mentioned above, depends on weather conditions. Not every region can have hot, dry summers.
Therefore, low temperature and high humidity are most favorable for this insect. But still in May, throughout June, they remain “nimble”. Tick activity in early July decreases slightly. And then, if July turned out to be hot and sunny.
Moms, grandmothers must remember how dangerous a tick bite is and what the consequences may be. The best thing is to warn in advance a possible attack, take all possible measures, going with a child for a walk.
The method of determining periods of activity of ticks
There is a special way to help determine tick activity for specific months. The flag method is used for this. A piece of white cloth is taken, which is close in size to a kitchen towel.
He is pulled through a thicket of grass. The length of the measured section is not more than a meter. Then, the number of insects that are attached to the canvas is calculated. This determines the activity of ticks for specific months in a given year.
When is it better to get a tick vaccine?
Tick vaccination is recommended in those regions where the largest population of insects and their high degree of activity are recorded. These are the countries of Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe.
Inoculating children is not contraindicated, but only after the child reaches one year old. Inoculations are given to pregnant women only if this is indicated: area of residence, type of professional activity.
Conclusion
The brief information presented here should be enough to understand how dangerous contact with ticks is. In conclusion, you can make a memo to remember this on the eve of the upcoming summer:
- Ticks by month are most active: end of April - beginning of October;
- Peak activity: end of April (beginning of May) - beginning of July;
- The activity of the tick is affected not by the time of day, but by temperature and humidity. The lower the temperature and the higher the humidity, the higher the activity;
- What month do ticks keep active? Activity is maintained until the air temperature drops below 6 degrees;
- Habitats - grass, branches of small bushes.
Going for a walk in the forest, do not forget about precautions in the park. Clothing should cover as much of the body as possible. After a walk, be sure to look at your favorite skin areas for tick bites, especially in children.
When ticks appear
- The first active individuals of this arthropod species appear in early April, less often in the middle of this month, as soon as the weather is warm enough for them.
- The optimum temperature for awakening ticks is 3-6 degrees.
- Especially fast is their recovery after winter in sunny weather.
- One of the signs of ticks is the appearance of the first green leaves.
Activity periods
- Active reproduction of ticks begins in May-June, during the same period there is a sharp increase in cases of attacks on people. This is due to the fact that females consume more food during the breeding season. The parasites have reached their maximum numbers since mid-May. Such a number of individuals persists even before June, if the weather remains warm, without sharp fluctuations in temperature.
- The next peak in the increase in the number of ticks occurs at the end of August, coinciding with the mushroom season. After this, ticks deplete the nutrients in reserve, and the population of these arthropods declines.
- Ticks can be observed up to September-October, but in smaller quantities. Depending on the weather, the extinction of the remaining single individuals may continue until the end of October.
Where can I pick a tick
To consider that these bloodsuckers live on tree branches is a mistake. These arthropods usually attack humans and animals from below. They also prefer to hide on bushes and grasses whose height does not exceed half a meter. This is due to the fact that they do not like active movements. The main areas where the bloodsucker is hiding:
- On low bushes.
- In the forest litter, namely in the fallen leaves, needles.
- In the low grass.
- In the vegetation near paths in parks and forests.
The last place attracts ticks in that they smell the prey that periodically passes by. It should be noted that ticks have no eyes and trust only their scent on hunting.
Also, a tick can “stick” to a person’s clothes, his shoes, and then crawl up in search of the most convenient place for a bite. On average, a tick is on a person for about 30 minutes, only looking for the right point on the skin. Often, these bloodsuckers settle on people who sit on the ground or grass.
In this case, the individuals of the tick simply crawl onto the person. Despite popular belief, these arthropods do not jump on humans. This erroneous judgment is due to the fact that ticks, rising from below, can crawl to the neck undetected.
What ticks are the most dangerous, and where are they found?
Not all types of ticks can be carriers of diseases that can harm a person. To parasitizing animals include representatives of the ixodidae family.
This large group includes at least 700 species of ticks, they are distributed on all continents, even in Antarctica.The most dangerous are three types of ticks of the ixodidae family:
- Taiga.
- European Forest.
- Grazing.
The first is located in the Asian part of Russia, and the second - in the European. Both of these species have a shell-covered body, have 4 pairs of legs.
It usually attacks domestic animals, therefore it poses a special threat to people involved in livestock breeding or often in contact with livestock.
Representatives of the ixodidae also love to live in grass and low shrubs. Also, this type of bloodsucking likes moist, swampy places. The most dangerous are:
- The banks of streams, rivers, and other bodies of water.
- Ravines.
- Deciduous and mixed forests.
Despite the fact that representatives of this family prefer places with high humidity, they reach the greatest activity in sunny, dry weather. On a rainy day, being a victim of ticks is much more difficult.
Tick activity
To calmly enjoy forest walks in the warm season, you need to know the activity of ticks for months, as well as ways to protect against them.
In the middle lane, these parasites pose a serious threat to humans and animals, so certain safety measures should be followed to avoid unpleasant consequences of a bite.
Dangerous periods
With the onset of warm days, everything in nature comes to life, and ticks are no exception. Walking through the forest, it is easy to meet this representative of blood-sucking insects.
The period of tick activity begins after the temperature exceeds +5 - 6 ° C, which means that already in April ticks are waiting for their first victims. They love these insects and humidity, the mass melting of snow and spring streams greatly contribute to their awakening.
European forest ticks wake up in April - May, ending the season of activity in June - July. At this time, they become especially dangerous for all warm-blooded animals and humans, therefore, increased protective measures are required.
Consideration should be given to the local climate and appropriate adjustment for weather conditions. Cold spring and rainy summers can delay the tick season, and warm autumn extend it until October. They also do not like heat, and already at temperatures above +20 ° C they retire.
The periods of tick activity vary from year to year, since parasites in their development go through 3 stages from the larva to the adult.
In the first year, insect larvae pose a danger to small rodents, then after a year, turning into a nymph, they also hunt mice, squirrels and hares, and only at the beginning of the third season they turn into full-fledged ticks, already dangerous to large animals and humans. Therefore, a particular activity is observed every 3 years.
To protect against bloodsuckers in garden areas, it is necessary to regularly trim the lawn, preventing the appearance of areas overgrown with tall grass.
Protection methods
Ticks during the period of activity perfectly determine the warm-blooded approach for 10 - 15 m. On the extremities of the insects there are hooks with which they cling to a person or animal that touched them and dig into the body.
It is preferable to wear boots on your feet, and any headgear or hood on your head. The inconvenience of such equipment in warm weather is offset by safety in the event of a meeting with a parasite.
During the walk, you must carefully examine yourself and your companions for pick-up ticks. Particular attention should be paid to the ears, armpits, groin and other hairy parts of the body.
Ticks that have not yet sucked up may be in the folds of fabric, so it is best to remove all clothing before entering the room and wash it thoroughly.
Animals also undergo a thorough examination, if a sucking tick is found, it is immediately necessary to carefully remove it by treating the bite site.
One of the most effective methods of protection is vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis based on the euthanized virus. Vaccinations should be given from the end of October to April in 4 stages.
This measure is especially relevant in places of increased tick activity and for those whose work is associated with frequent visits to forests and parks.
How to remove a sucking tick
Noticing a sucked insect on the body, in no case should you crush it or sharply pull it out. Thus, you can leave the head of the tick inside, and removing it will be much more difficult. Next, you need to gently bend it, and grabbing with tweezers at the very base, pull it out of the body.
If, however, the head of the tick remains in the body, it is necessary to remove it as a splinter using a calcined needle, and disinfect the affected area with iodine.
What to do with the extracted tick
It is recommended to check the extracted tick for infection in order to properly orient yourself about further actions. If the insect is a carrier of dangerous diseases, it is urgent to contact the appropriate medical institution for a range of therapeutic measures.
Consequences of infection
Ticks are carriers of rather dangerous diseases, such as tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis (Lyme disease), and there is no vaccine from the last one.
Signs of encephalitis infection appear 10 to 12 days after the bite, a severe headache begins, aches in the whole body, the temperature rises, reaching 40 ° C.
Knowing the time of tick activity and providing good protection from them, you can enjoy pleasant walks in the woods and safely walk your four-legged friends.
When ticks appear and activity season ends
The activity of insects often comes into irreconcilable conflict with human activity. Most often this applies to staying in the fresh air, and not only in dense forests, but also in your own summer cottage, where it is especially insulting to “lose” insects.
Ticks
This insect belongs to the category of arthropods, which, in turn, are the most common class of insects on earth - more than 54 thousand species are described.
Insects are not quite like spiders: the body is divided into 2 parts so that the border is closer to the front.
Typically, an insect has 6 pairs of appendages, of which 4 are legs — in an adult parasite, the anterior forms stitch-cutting mouth structures, and the second anterior forms pedipalps.The body of the insect may be soft or protected by a chitinous shell.
Most species are non-parasitic and do not pose a threat to humans, although their bites cause skin irritation.
But some species are parasites - they feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals and suffer some serious illnesses. To protect yourself from ailments and prevent the reproduction of insects, you need to know when ticks are most dangerous.
What determines the activity of insects
When the parasites are most active, in any case, it depends on temperature. To start the life of an insect, the temperature at which the top layer of the soil thaws is sufficient. However, the peak of their "activity" falls on a warmer time of the year.
When parasites are most dangerous
There are 3 stages.
- The larva feeds on the blood of only small animals, like rodents, so a person can not be afraid of it.
- Then the larva turns into a nymph and hibernates. In spring, the nymph becomes active, but still eats the blood of rodents.
- Only at 3 years old is an adult capable of breeding formed. It is she who represents the maximum danger.
What does active time mean for ticks
- Firstly, this is the period during which the peak activity of bloodsuckers is observed.
- Secondly, the maximum number of insects, which depends on the season to a lesser extent.
- The peak is recorded when the parasites are in the phase of an active search for food supply before reproduction.
- Also, the factor of activity is the moment at which the likelihood of a bite is maximum.
To determine when these factors are effective, that is, at what time and how active ticks become, use the flag-clock method.
The latter are ordinary white panels the size of a waffle towel. The cloth is placed in the thickets of the forest, where insect activity is observed. By the number of parasites fixed on the tissue, their activity in the current year is calculated.
When insects are most active
It’s difficult to pinpoint the time of year when insects should be most feared, it depends on the period of the onset of heat, the level of humidity and even the weather.
- Period of the year - on average, the highest activity is observed from mid-May to the end of June. As a rule, this month both heat and necessary humidity are successfully combined. In addition, it is during this period that the peak of reproduction occurs, which means that insects require as much food as possible. The second such peak is observed in late August - early September. At this time, dog ticks attack. However, their bite is also unsafe for humans.
- Period of the day - parasites do not like heat. The best temperature range for them is from +7 to +22 C. As a rule, this temperature is held either in the early morning - 8–9 hours, or in the late evening - 7–10 hours. In addition, the humidity in the morning and evening is higher than during the day. In the remaining hours, insects do not stop attacking, but they do it much less often.
- Weather - in addition to the temperature range, humidity also matters for insects. So, on a dry sunny day, ticks practically stop attacking. The same can be said of rains. In what weather are ticks active? Before the rain, when the air is saturated with humidity and overcast.
Tick activity periods
Ticks are small arthropods that belong to the class of arachnids. The main stages of the life cycle: egg, larva, nymph, imago (sexually mature individual).
In total, more than 10 thousand species of ticks have been described, many of them are parasites and carriers of diseases, harm humans and animals.
For example, scabies itching causes scabies. An allergic reaction develops on ticks that live in a person’s home; respiratory catarrh and gastrointestinal upsets occur when inhaled or swallowed with food from barn mites.
Larvae of the red beetle provoke dermatitis and transmit tsugugamushi fever. The parasitiform squad is most dangerous, since mouse and rat ticks are carriers of vesicular rickettsiosis. Some types of gamazoid ticks can cause tick-borne encephalitis, tularemia, plague, Q fever in humans.
Ticks play a greater role in the spread of infection than warm-blooded animals, since their lifespan is much longer, and they remain a carrier of the pathogen throughout life (in the organism of warm-blooded pathogens, it remains for several days or weeks and disappears after the end of the disease).
The habitat map of bloodsuckers covers the Urals, Siberia, Krasnodar Territory, Crimea, and the entire planet, since they are ubiquitous, although the number of encephalitis ticks is different.
Ixodid ticks spend a significant part of the life cycle in the external environment. Sophisticated behavioral responses help in the survival and finding of a host.
Knowing the characteristics of behavior and the time when the activity of ticks is high, you can avoid contact with them and protect yourself from dangerous diseases.
When tick activity is increased
For the life of the tick, as for most animals, there is an optimal temperature and humidity of the surrounding air, and air humidity is considered the most important factor.
The lower the relative humidity, the more water evaporates from the body of the insect and the faster the arthropod is dehydrated.
The greatest amount of moisture is lost when the tick is in the active phase, less when passively waiting for the owner. Any arthropod can die from dehydration. For different species, the critical indicator of relative air humidity is different (from 75 to 96%).
Therefore, ticks have a limited time of activity, after which they cease to respond to stimuli coming from the host and tend to litter, where they fall into an inactive state and replenish moisture.
In temperate climates, the tick activity season begins in early spring and continues until late fall. The activity of these dangerous bloodsuckers is affected not by the duration of daylight hours, not by the stage of development, but by weather conditions.
Therefore, the activity of ticks for months is determined conditionally, based on the average annual temperature indicators, therefore, the temperature and activity graphs are correlated.
If spring comes out cold, then the “hunting season” for these arachnids will begin later, and if the heat comes in March, then people with bites will go to the doctors earlier. Therefore, how long the activity lasts depends on how quickly the heat arrives and how early the freezing begins.
In a subtropical climate, an abnormally hot and dry summer season or a cold winter season can stop or slow down tick development, and in a temperate climate a winter break is the rule.
With the onset of cold weather, ixodid enters the resting stage, during which resistance to adverse environmental factors increases and metabolism decreases, which extends the life span of a starving individual
At the end of these periods, the parasites disappear. In the central and northern regions of Russia, where temperature fluctuations are significant, periods of slowing down of activity, called diapause, are clearly manifested in the biological rhythms of the insect.
Distinguish diapause morphogenetic and behavioral. The former are associated with a change in life stages and are necessary to synchronize the life rhythm with seasonal fluctuations. For example, the appearance of larvae from eggs is slowed down or the molting period is delayed in a well-fed nymph.
Behavioral diapause is characterized by the absence of aggression in hungry ticks, and it is associated with daylight hours and temperature changes.
The most favorable conditions for "hunting" ticks in late spring and early summer. The biggest chance to meet a bloodsucker is from April to June.
The first season of activity begins in mid-spring, at about the time when the air temperature warms up to 10 oС. And when it gets too hot for a bloodsucker, he hides in places with high humidity and waits until it is saturated with moisture.
This does not mean that he will not go hunting, just the period of activity of ticks will be much shorter, therefore, the risk of meeting them will also decrease.
If the summer months are hot, then the activity of bloodsuckers will be greatly reduced, and they can only hunt for a short time.
The second wave of tick activity is observed in the autumn period. Its duration depends on weather conditions. If the air temperature is not too low, then the danger of picking up a tick will remain throughout the fall. The largest number of bites is recorded at the end of summer, and the peak occurs at the beginning of autumn, when the days are still warm.
When ticks cease to be active
Ticks cease to pose a danger to humans and animals with the onset of July heat and November frosts, since temperature conditions and relative humidity make them become inactive.
In the middle of summer, with the advent of heat and a decrease in air humidity, in the grass and shrubs, where ticks usually wait for the victim, humidity and exposure to sunlight are too low, so the parasites are forced to descend into the litter and wait, and hunting in such conditions is ineffective.
Ticks, whose habitat is desert and semi-desert, have no more than a dozen minutes to hunt for and attack the host, but during this time period they can overcome no more than 100 meters (usually 60–80).
After the arachnid has a change of behavior and he seeks shelter. Ticks that live in the forest zone always avoid direct sunlight (they always go to the other side of the blade of grass or twig where the shadow is).
Periodically, they leave the most convenient hunting places and crawl to places of high humidity, where they spend a lot of time, not paying attention to potential hosts.
It turns out that the insect is incapable of waiting for the victim for a long time and forced to hide in the litter to replenish moisture.
The time of the “hunt” depends on the strategy, for example, ticks that pursue the victim, which means that their activity and metabolism are higher, are able to search for and pursue the victim for tens of minutes, and those that lie in wait for the host in the grass,can wait from several hours to a week or more.
It turns out that the higher the air temperature, the fewer bloodsuckers will lie in wait for the victim, since they have a change in motive of behavior and most of them make up for the loss of moisture in the litter and do not respond to a person or animal passing by.
The period of greatest danger to humans
The very first stage of the development of the parasite is the egg. A fertilized female lays up to 20 thousand eggs in a decayed bedding or burrows of small animals.
But in order to survive, they still need a host-host. They are small rodents or birds. If the larva cannot find food, then it leaves for the winter and wakes up in the spring and continues hunting. The peak parasitic activity of the larvae is recorded in the fall.
A well-fed larva detaches from the host and falls to the ground, then molts and turns into a nymph that looks like an adult.
In the middle zone, nymphs are active from early spring to late autumn, but they are most dangerous from mid-spring to early summer. The nymph parasitizes on hares, squirrels, rats. Ticks are most dangerous in early May. Therefore, going to rest on the May holidays, be especially vigilant!
To become a sexually mature individual, the parasite needs time: the rate of its transformation will depend on environmental conditions. The entire cycle of the development of the ixodid tick can take place within a year or four to five years.
Most often, the parasite during development replaces three hosts, on each of which it eats only once. It turns out that for a person a tick is dangerous, which is at the last stage of development, although it is possible that a nymph will also bite.
The risk of contracting infectious diseases increases at the onset of tick activity, after exiting the dormant state.
This is explained by the fact that the parasite after wintering activates the activation mechanism and increased aggression. During periods of summer diapause, the risk of being bitten by an infected tick is significantly lower.
During the period of activity, ixodid ticks are forced to make daily migrations and move from a blade of grass to a blade of grass closer to paths and paths along which people and animals pass.
Since they are hot, they will spend some time in the litter. At night, they will travel faster and longer to hunt distances, so the likelihood is significantly increased that he will find a master.
In what weather are insects aggressive?
The most favorable conditions for the development of ixodid ticks is a tropical climate. Humidity and a suitable temperature determine the rapid transition from one life form to another. In places with a warm climate, the development cycle can take one year or several months.
In those climatic zones where dry summers and rains are rare, parasites are forced to spend most of the time in shelter and hide from the sun.
Ixodid ticks are most active in warm and humid weather. Rainy summers and lingering spring are very popular with parasites, since they do not need to go down from the waiting place of the host and replenish moisture.
During rain, the insect hides under a leaf or blade of grass, so there remains a risk of being bitten. Bloodsuckers end with the onset of frost, so the question of what weather you can not be afraid of ticks, you can answer: "Only in winter."
Temperature mode
In the spring, after the snow melts, the ixodids wake up and go hunting. At what temperature do parasites get out of the state of suspended animation?
First, ticks are found in places of thawed areas, on open hills, that is, where the sun's rays warm the earth.
The transition to a state of rest occurs with a decrease in average air temperature, the duration of daylight hours and a change in relative humidity.
In central Russia, parasites cease to be active at the end of October, and in the first half of November, most of them are already sleeping. Most often, forest ticks disappear during the early November frosts, when there is little snow or no snow at all.
The thing is that the greater the snow cover, the warmer the surface of the soil, and although the parasites are able to survive the short-term twenty-five degrees of frost, they prefer to be at zero temperatures.
Ticks multiply when the air temperature is about 20–25 oС. A female who drank blood just before hibernation will still lay eggs, but they will not survive, because they are unable to withstand the cold, and will die already at zero temperature.
A person or an animal can get tick bites as soon as the snow melts, because at positive temperatures the parasite comes out of hibernation and starts looking for a host.
If the humidity is low, then the insect develops dehydration, and it is forced to hide in the litter, that is, where it is quite cool and humid. If the temperatures are high, then in the "shelter" he spends most of the time of the day.
Ticks remain active in the rain, in addition, their activity increases significantly at night, so beware of bites at any time of the day in any weather from early April to late October.
You can understand if there are ticks in a given area by assessing the amount of litter on the ground. If last year's foliage crunches underfoot, then there is a high probability that bloodsuckers are hiding there.
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