The summer months are full of bugs and insects that fly, crawl and dig through our yards. But one of the most dangerous insects that we have, second only to the mosquito, is the tick. These bloodsucking insects can spread many different kinds of diseases to humans through their bite. One of these diseases has Lyme disease. How does a tick get Lyme disease? Lyme disease is caused by bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi. This bacteria is transmitted to the tick when it bites other animals such a small rodents and mice and rats.
Lyme disease is a very dangerous disease that is spread through the bite of the deer tick. This tick is also known as the black legged tick. These ticks will feed on the blood of many different animals including small rodents such as mice, rats, rabbits, squirrels and other mammals. If that animal it has the bacterial infection, it can spread into the tick. Once the tick bites a person, that bacterium can be transmitted to them. If left untreated Lyme disease can be fatal. If you think you or someone that you know has been bitten by a tick and has the symptoms of Lyme disease, it’s important that you seek medical attention immediately.
TICKS FEEDING
Ticks or insects that can’t jump nor fly. They depend on animals moving through tall grass to make connection with a host. They stand on the long grass and when someone walks through, they were attached to them, sinking their mouth parts into the skin and removing a blood meal. Often it takes a few hours for ticks to completely finish this meal. They will blow up two or three times their original size as they filled with blood. They will stay attached to the host as long as they need to to keep feeding until they’re full. This process gives a large window for disease to pass from the tick to the human.Your Broken Arrow pest control company will have more information.
Lyme disease can start to show symptoms anywhere from three days to 30 days from the time of initial contact. What usually happens is at the sight of the bite, a bull’s-eye shaped rash will appear in the bruising around the bite. The circulate pattern is called erythema migrans, and can have one or multiple circles. This symptom will be followed by chills and fever, headache, fatigue, stiff neck, muscle or joint pain, and swollen glands. Even though the disease is very dangerous, it can be treated with antibiotics if it’s treated early. This is why early detection is so important.
LYME DISEASE MYTHS AND PREVENTION
Many people falsely believe that if you have been infected with Lyme disease that you are immune to getting infected the second time. This is simply not the case. Because it’s a bacterial infection, you can be infected a second time if you’re bitten by another tick that’s been infected with Lyme disease. The best prevention is to avoid being bitten by a tick in the first place. One of the best ways to do this is by having your yard treated for ticks by a licensed professional Tulsa exterminator.
If you find a tick has attached itself to your skin, and it’s time to remove the tick properly. Get a pair of tweezers and grab the tick by the mouth parts as close to the skin as you can. Pull the tick straight out of the skin. Once you remove the tick, crush it and discard it. Then you’ll need to treat the wound with isopropyl alcohol or some other antiseptic. If you begin to see the circle shaped rashes around the wound then it’s important that you seek medical attention as soon as possible.
TYPES OF TICKS
Ticks are separated into two different types. There are soft and hard ticks. In Oklahoma there are very few soft ticks. The difference between hard and soft ticks is obviously their exoskeleton. Most ticks have a very hard outside exoskeleton and therefore of the hard variety. These ticks go through an incomplete metamorphosis. This means that they start as an egg, then hatched as a nymph, and then grow into a full grown adult. The nymph looks much like the adult stage of the tick, only much smaller. Call a Broken Arrow exterminator for help.
Most ticks including the American dog tick are three hose ticks. This means that they will hatch from an egg on a leaf and then attach to a nearby mammal that walks past. It will feed upon this host and then drop off back onto a leaf. Here they will molt and then wait again to attach to a second host biting a second time. Once it does this, it will fall off again into a leaf. Then it will molt and develop until it’s ready to attach to a third host. After feeding on the third host, it will then fall off ready to lay eggs on a leaf. Once it lays eggs, it will die and the process will begin all over again.
DEALING WITH TICKS
Ticks tend to gather into groups both on the host and in foliage. By doing this they can go through a period known as dormancy. This is when adverse environmental conditions make it and suitable to continue their life cycle, they will slow their body functions down. This gives them the ability to go through extremely dry times, the cold of winter or other adverse situation that might affect them.
If you’re having a problem with ticks or any other pests that could be bothering you in your yard or home, then it’s time to call a reputable Tulsa pest control company. Here at TermMax Pest Control, we are the best in the business when it comes to dealing with ticks, mosquitoes, fleas or any other pest. We service the greater Tulsa area including Owasso, Turley, Coweta, Broken Arrow, Sand Springs, Claremore, Sapulpa, Bixby, Jenks, Prattville, Sapulpa and much more. Calls today for a free estimate. We’re here to help!