Photo Credit: ©2007 Buglady Consulting

Ticks can be very small when not engorged with blood.

To date, there are approximately 1.8 million microbes, fungi, plants and animals discovered, identified and classified in the world. Of these, about a million species compose the arthropods, including insects, spiders, scorpions, mites and ticks. These creepy critters share common traits – including an exterior skeleton and mouths that bite sideways – that make them seem alien to us. They’re so cold and distant from the warm-blooded, fuzzy mammals we know and love. It’s therefore safe to assume that gross things like ticks are not on anyone’s “favorite animal” list.

Because they’re creeping, bloodsucking parasites, ticks are regarded as annoying – even repulsive – insects. But ticks can also be dangerous to humans and pets, making them even more sinister. Anyone who likes to spend time outdoors should be aware of these dangers, as well as what to do if contact with a tick is made. Various tick types may pass disease organisms to an unsuspecting host. For instance, the common American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia, while the prevalent lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) can carry an affliction known as “Southern tick associated rash illness,” as well as the awful-sounding human monocytic ehrlichiosis.

But of all the more than 800 species of ticks, the one responsible for the most cases of human disease in the US is the black-legged tick, sometimes known as the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). This insect is found east of the Rocky Mountains, (while a close cousin, the Western black-legged tick (I. pacificus) is found on and around the Pacific Coast), and is abundant in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and especially along the East Coast. These ticks have a two-year life cycle and require but three blood meals in their entire life. Their principal hosts are typically field mice and white-tailed deer, but humans and pets may also serve as a good dinner. The adult black-legged tick is the size of a sesame seed, but the immature form of the black-legged tick is poppy seed-sized and very difficult to detect.

Black-legged ticks can pass on a malarialike illness known as babesiosis, a protozoan illness called human granulocytic anaplasmosis or the widespread malady known simply as Lyme disease. In fact, a single infected black-legged tick can transmit all three diseases to a person concurrently. While the first two diseases are relatively rare, Lyme disease strikes more than 25,000 individuals each year, while many more people may have a chronic form that is difficult to diagnose and treat.

About half of the adult ticks and a quarter of the immature nymph ticks are infected with Lyme disease. If either an adult or nymph remains feeding on a human for more than 48 hours, infection is possible. Early Lyme disease may generate a red rash known as an erythema migrans in 70 percent of cases, and other symptoms include joint and muscle aches, fatigue and general malaise. When detected early, Lyme disease is treatable with a regimen of antibiotics.

Knowing when and where black-legged ticks are present will aid in prevention. Since these ticks are vulnerable to drying out, they are usually found in wooded areas, close to the ground. Ticks don’t fly or descend from trees; they grab onto a sock or shoe and simply move up. The tiny black-legged nymphs are active from May through mid-August, while adults are found from October through June and are active if temperatures are above 35 degrees F – so pretty much all year long!

If you find a tick embedded on you, remove it with tweezers, dab antiseptic on the wound site, note the calendar date and get the tick identified by your County Extension Service or a local entomologist. If you feel sick, seek a doctor for treatment. Remember – don’t get ticked off – get the tick off!