Tick Control In Pinellas County
Ticks are relatives of spiders, scorpions, and mites. As such, their survival is dependent on a host (i.e., they’re parasites). Specifically, ticks feed on an animal’s blood or body fluids. The deer tick (Ixodes scapularis in the East & Midwest, and Ixodes pacificus in the West) goes through many stages during its lifecycle, and feeds on different species at each point.
The Life Cycle Of A Tick
Ticks begin as eggs (stage 1) that will hatch into 6-legged larvae (stage 2).
Larvae live and feed on animals (mice, deer, squirrels, livestock, and any humans who enter the tick habitat) for about a week before detaching and then molting (shedding), anywhere from 1 week to 8 months later.
The larvae then become 8-legged nymphs (stage 3). Nymphs feed on animals, engorge for 3 to 11 days, detach, and molt about a month later (depending on the species and environmental conditions).
Once the nymph molts, it becomes an adult tick (male or female).
Facts About Ticks
Ticks climb up grass and plants and hold their legs up “sensing” and “looking” for their prey. Ticks are attracted to their hosts by detecting carbon dioxide and heat through special organs located on the first pair of the tick’s legs (Haller’s organs). When a warm-blooded animal walks past, the tick can crawl onto them and begins feeding. Ticks insert their mouths, attach to their prey, and engorge themselves with a blood meal (stage 4). During feeding, tick saliva can get into the host’s body and blood stream. Any infected with Borrelia burgdorferi can then inadvertently spread this bacteria to the host.
Male and female ticks usually mate while attached to the host. A few weeks later, the engorged female detaches from the host and lays her eggs (1000 – 8000 eggs) on a leaf. A tick usually lives a year before dying.
Tick Control FAQS
Unlike mosquitoes, bedbugs, and other blood-sucking pests who leave the bite site after attacking humans and animals, ticks bite their hosts and bury their mouthparts in the skin of their subjects for the long haul. If you find a tick shortly after it bites, you will probably only see a small red...Continue Reading »
It's way easier to prevent a tick infestation than to control one, keep the following in mind: Make sure your pets are protected from fleas and ticks with topical or oral medications as recommended by your veterinarian Wear insect repellant with Deet when walking in potentially tick-infested...Continue Reading »
The short answer is yes, ticks do bite humans, as well as dogs, rodents, and amphibians. A 2016 Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in Vital Signs revealed that over the past thirteen years, tick-borne diseases doubled and represented 77% of all vector-borne disease reports....Continue Reading »
Ticks are small members of the Arachnid family, ranging in size from the size of a pinhead to a pencil eraser, ranging in color from brown to reddish-brown and black. Relatives to spiders, scorpions and mites, ticks sport eight legs, and according to fossil records, originated some 90 million years...Continue Reading »
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