By Judith Warrington, JRA Communications Coordinator
Outdoor activities make us keenly aware of one of the least favorite residents of the James River watershed, the tick. For its size, no other creature inspires such disproportionate fear and loathing! While the thought of ticks may bug you, they are not insects! Ticks are arthropods and a member of the class Arachnid, which includes such other eight-legged creepy crawlies as scorpions, daddy longlegs, spiders and mites.
Three of the most common ticks in the James River Watershed are the Lone Star tick (a potential carrier of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever), the Brown dog tick (not known to carry any diseases in Virginia) and the tiny Blacklegged or Deer tick, which is found primarily in northern and eastern sections of Virginia. This tick is a potential vector for Lyme disease. Is your skin crawling yet?
Ticks pass through three developmental stages: the larval stage (sometimes called a “seed tick,” which has six legs at this stage), nymph, and adult. Each stage prefers a different host. While you might think you’re the intended victim of this tiny blood-sucker, humans are merely accidental hosts. Your lack of fur means the tick is more likely to be found and is therefore less likely to get a good meal off you. Ticks may feed for several days until they are engorged with blood, then drop off. Fortunately for us, ticks tend to wander round for several hours before they find a cozy, protected spot to feed by inserting their mouthpart into the skin. And finding a traveling tick is always much better than having to remove one that is embedded.
Here’s one comforting fact about ticks…they can neither jump nor fly. The little opportunists simply wait for a preferred host – or you – to brush by them in tall grasses or bushes. But don’t let this tiny creature keep you indoors. Learn how to avoid them. It’s your best protection against ticks. The Virginia Cooperative Extension at Virginia Tech offers these recommendations:
• Do a “tick check” immediately after being outdoors or every four hours.
• Stay out of tick infested areas such as tall grass and dense vegetation.
• Wear light-colored clothing so ticks can be easily spotted and removed.
• Wear a long sleeve shirt.
• Use an insect repellent that contains at least 30% DEET.
• Check your dog for ticks.
• Learn the proper way to remove a tick. How you remove it can increase or decrease your chances of infection!
For more information about ticks, visit http://www.ext.vt.edu/
For more information about tick-borne diseases, visit the VDH website at http://www.vdh.state.va.us/
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