About ticks

We answer the most common questions about ticks in the house. Ticks in the house, especially those who live here all the time, seem like nonsense to many people. If cockroaches, moths and even bedbugs are perceived by many as undesirable, but still "domestic" arthropods, then people are used to being afraid of ticks only on the street, and they are sure that these creatures will definitely not appear in the apartment, […]

Ticks are dangerous parasites that feed on the blood of animals or humans. But the mites themselves are also an important part of food chains involving a number of insects, birds, frogs, lizards…

The meadow tick belongs to the family of ixodid parasitiform ticks that feed on the blood of humans and animals. This species, as well as dog and taiga ticks, is a carrier of dangerous diseases ...

By itself, a tick bite is not terrible. These parasites are not poisonous, and the amount of blood they can drink is quite negligible and does not bear any negative consequences for the host. However, blood-sucking ticks can be carriers of pathogens of dangerous diseases ...

In the life of ticks there are periods of inactive existence, which are called diapauses.They help these arachnids survive adverse weather conditions and synchronize their life cycle with changes in the environment…

During the sucking of blood by a tick, the saliva of the parasite periodically enters the wound. In some species, it hardens and forms a hard "cement" case, having time to spread in the lower layers of the skin and making the base of the case wider than the top. Thus, a solid structure is obtained that does not allow pulling out the bloodsucker ...

There is an opinion that ticks are not found in a pine forest, but statistics on cases of attacks by these bloodsuckers show the opposite. These parasites live both in mixed and deciduous and coniferous forests and successfully feed there. For a tick, it is not so much the type of forest that is important, but the favorable climatic conditions and the presence of a sufficient number of hosts nearby ...

The attack of forest ticks on humans is quite specific and differs in many respects from the hunting methods inherent in other blood-sucking parasites. Interestingly, most species of ixodid ticks do not have eyes, but they can perfectly feel the victim. And the organs of touch and smell help them in this, with which the parasite is literally covered from head to toe ...

Among the whole variety of forest ticks, ixodid ticks, which are carriers of deadly diseases of humans and domestic animals, are of particular epidemiological interest.Let's see where these parasites are most often concentrated in the forests, how they look and reproduce, what animals they usually feed on and, most importantly, how to effectively protect themselves from them when relaxing in nature ...

Unlike dogs, cats are more susceptible to ear mite infestation: they get sick more often and have more serious complications. In addition, Otodectes cynotis mites can constantly live in the ear canal of cats, without outwardly manifesting themselves in any way and without causing damage to the pet, which, nevertheless, will transfer the parasite to all surrounding objects and transmit it to other animals. A person can also get ear scabies from a sick cat. We will talk further about the nuances of infection of cats with ear mites and the course of otodectosis in them ...