About
Ticks:
A rise in
tick numbers
Changes in land management and the climate are just some of the factors
contributing to a rise in the tick population. With warmer winters allowing more
ticks to survive, and to feed and breed earlier, cases of UK-acquired tick-borne
disease are increasing quite dramatically. In addition, urban-acquired cases are
becoming more frequent as urban sprawl blurs the boundaries with rural habitat,
and urban wildlife becomes established.
What ticks look like
Ticks vary in shape, colour and size, depending on the species, sex, age, and
whether they have fed. They belong to the spider family and have eight legs
(except for when they are newly hatched and have six). There are hard and soft
ticks; unfed hard ticks are flat with a hard shield on their backs. Soft ticks
have leathery back which covers their heads.
Ticks are generally flat and black, brown or red-brown coloured, until they have
fed. Then they become more blue-grey, purple or fleshy pink. They have several
life stages: larva, nymph, and adult. They need a blood meal to complete each
phase. Larvae are like tiny dots (approximately 0.5mm). Nymphs are slightly
bigger (like a poppy seed), and adults are bigger still, like a sesame seed
(2.5-3mm). Once fed, they can swell to the size of a small coffee bean.
Tick bites
Tick bites are generally painless. Their saliva contains special bio-chemicals
which have anaesthetic, anti-inflammatory and anti-coagulant properties.
Infective organisms are contained within the intestines and saliva glands of the
tick and are transmitted during the feeding process. The longer the tick remains
attached, the higher the risk of disease transmission.
Where ticks are found
Although associated with rural woodland, forest, moorland and meadow, ticks can
be found in lots of places, depending on the species and surrounding wildlife.
The areas generally associated with tick-borne disease are the New Forest,
Exmoor, the Lake District, the Scottish Highlands and Islands, the North York
moors, Thetford Forest, and the South Downs. However, ticks will occur wherever
there is good vegetation cover and diverse wildlife. This can include city parks
and gardens. Wherever there are ticks, a proportion will be carrying tick-borne
infections.
Ticks that bite people and animals are generally found waiting on low
vegetation. They sense a potential host via airborne-chemical particles from the
host's breath and skin. They fall on, or latch on to, the host as it passes.
For further information,
please visit www.bada-uk.org
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