2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Not only people rejoice at the arrival of warm days. The buds burst on the trees, showing the world a sticky delicate greenery. Dandelions turn yellow merrily, competing with their outfit with the main source of heat and light. Hordes of insects are activated, including an almost inconspicuous, but insidious vector of diseases, the tick
Small but remote
The smaller the size of a living organism, the easier it is for it to adapt to changing environmental conditions. Powerful and strong-looking mammoths have long died out, but microscopic mites (length from 0.2 mm), which you cannot always see with the naked eye, have not only survived, but are also successfully increasing their presence on the planet. Among the arachnids, to the class of which scientists classify ticks, this is the most numerous population.
Habitat
The main habitat of ticks is the soil, or rather, its top layer. Here, the decomposition of out-of-date plants occurs, which ticks feed on, helping to create a nutrient layer - humus.
Everything would be great if mites lived only in the soil. But their fertility forces them to expand their habitat. Some of the mites came out into the light of day and adapted to live in the grass, climbing up to a meter height of plants. Here they ceased to be content with one vegetable juice, and expanded their diet with the blood of animals and humans.
Moreover, ticks became cramped in the natural expanses of fields and forests, and they moved to our cities, populating gardens and parks. No, no, and our pet will bring a tick from a walk on its well-groomed skin.
Fear has big eyes
Among any population there are “good” and “bad”, “useful” and “harmful”, “friendly” and “evil”. Ticks are no exception. A huge number of mites are working to create humus - the bread of plants.
But, among them there is a small number of parasites, due to which in May-June the queues in the city emergency rooms sharply increase. Digging into the soft tissues of living organisms, they not only suck blood, but strive to reward a person with a number of diseases, among which encephalitis is deadly. When summer fully comes into its own, and the temperature no longer drops below 20 degrees, the activity of ticks decreases.
Favorite places of predators
Lovers of nature walks are advised to inspect their clothes every two hours for any unwanted guests. Why are we talking about two hours?
Naturally, this is an average figure obtained through numerous observations of the behavior of ticks. Having looked out, or rather, having sniffed out (the ticks have no eyes) its prey, the tick does not strike it with lightning speed. In anticipation of a delicious lunch, he can travel around his body for a couple of hours, choosing places that are secluded and soft, where no one puts him to enjoy the meal.
Inspections help to catch the attacker in advance. After all, later it will be possible to detect it only when it screams in the most unpredictable place (behind the ear, under the arm, in the groin, on the back), and the person will feel slight discomfort, which is not immediately compatible with the introduction of a tick.
Protective measures
A person often neglects simple and long-known protective measures until the tick cries out to him or a close friend. Then, going to nature, a person will put on tight jeans, tucking them into socks; rubber boots; a windbreaker or encephalitis by tucking it into jeans; and will not forget to cover his head.
The chemical industry is on guard for human health and mood, releasing acaricidal and repellent agents that scare away or kill bloodthirsty carriers of the infection.
The composition of acaricides includes sulfur, chlorine, phosphorus or their various compounds, which have a detrimental effect on ticks. But do not forget that in large doses, they are dangerous for humans.
If you are an ardent pacifist and cannot swat even an annoying fly, use repellent agents that only scare away insects without inflicting mortal wounds on them.
If the enemy turned out to be more cunning than you and, nevertheless, made his way into your territory, remove his swollen body from yours and consult a doctor, not relying on the Russian "maybe".
Recommended:
What Should I Do If Bitten By A Tick?
If you find a tick embedded in your body, do not panic. Firstly, it is not a fact that it is infectious, and secondly, by taking the necessary measures, you can avoid troubles, even with a viral infection
Bitten By A Tick: What To Do?
With the onset of the spring-summer season, summer residents have new far-reaching plans - to plant and grow a good harvest, have the most productive rest in the country, go to the forest for mushrooms and do a great many other important things. Ticks have their own plans for this period - to find gape of people and animals and attack them! But a tick bite can be very dangerous! What if the tick did bite?
Prevention And Treatment Of Tick Bites In Dogs
In the spring, as, indeed, throughout the entire warm season, not only people but also their pets suffer from tick bites. Especially, they love to attack dogs. How to protect the "smaller brothers" from this scourge?
The Ubiquitous Spider Mite
If the Colorado potato beetle and the aphid that loves to overeat can be seen with the naked eye, then you can see a spider mite, less than a millimeter in size, only armed with a magnifying glass. This also applies to the thinnest web that the tick weaves, creating the comfort of its place of stay. The tick has no preferences in choosing a prey; it, like a locust, eats everything. He is not embarrassed by any weather conditions, only frosts and eternal ice of Antarctica have suspended his march across the planet. Moreover, water is simply
The Ubiquitous Small Sowing Nutcracker
The small sowing nutcracker is found everywhere in Russia. It is especially widespread in the forest-steppe and steppes, as well as in the southern part of the taiga. The larvae of this polyphagous pest damage tiny shoots and seeds, potato tubers, cereals, as well as root crops of carrots and beets and a number of other crops. Small sowing nutcracker is one of the most dangerous pests of agricultural crops
