The real Dracula
Published 1:28 pm Wednesday, August 27, 2003
By Staff
The other day I found a big, old fat tick on Little Big Dog and realized I'd forgotten to give him this month's dose of anti tick-flea juice. Of course, now I wonder if that blood sucking Dracula may have transmitted some evil disease to my best bud. In the overall scheme of things tick borne diseases are rare but they are worthy of concern. Lyme disease has garnered all the press but no less significant are diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, ehrlichiosis and over a half dozen other serious tick transmitted illnesses occurring here in Michigan.
Ticks are related to spiders and scorpions. A number of different tick species inhabit our area with the most common by far being the dog, or wood tick. Woodchuck ticks and lone star ticks are other frequently encountered species. All are known to transmit a host of diseases to animals and humans. The one benign member is the winter tick. Hunters commonly find these on deer and elk they have bagged. They rarely attach to humans and are not known to transmit any diseases.
Our newest arrival is the black legged, or deer tick, the infamous transmitter of lyme disease. Until recently they were confined to the Upper Peninsula. In the last couple of years, however, they have appeared here in Southwestern Michigan. Black legged ticks carrying lyme disease have been found in Berrien County at Warren Woods, Grand Mere State Park and along the St. Joe River as well as areas of Van Buren and Allegan Counties. Black legged ticks have also been found in Cass and St. Joe Counties with lyme disease microbes but not the full blown infection. Though other tick species have also been found with lyme disease microbes, so far they aren't known to develop the disease and pass it on.
A tick starts life as an egg. From the egg a legged larvae hatches. This almost microscopic sized larvae attaches to and feeds from a host animal for about a week. Then it drops off and goes through a molt which can take anywhere from a week to several months. Emerging from the molt is a pin head sized nymph. The nymph again finds a host animal to feed on. Once while in Africa my wife and I were besieged by tick nymphs no bigger than flakes of ground pepper. Despite our best efforts to get them all off we both ended up with some weird infection that made us sicker than dogs. At any rate, the nymph will stay attached to the host anywhere from three to eleven days. After dropping off it takes about a month for the nymph to once again molt and transform into an adult tick.
Ticks locate host animals with special organs in their front legs that sense carbon dioxide and heat. They wait patiently on some leaf with outstretched forelegs until an animal happens along, then they simply grab on for the ride. Adult ticks usually mate when they are attached to the host animal. This is why you so often find two ticks in the same spot on Fido. The female attaches and engorges. The male crawls around until he finds the female and does likewise. Whenever you find one engorged tick on your pet always look for another smaller one, too. The adult tick stays attached to the host for several weeks. After dropping off the female finds a suitable leaf, lays her eggs and the cycle is repeated.
Experts agree the best way to remove a tick is to simply pull it off, preferably with tweezers. Grab it right next to the skin so as not to squeeze the body which can force internal juices and bacteria out through their mouth. The head often breaks off so use a good antiseptic to prevent infection. Thankfully, only a small percentage of ticks carry disease. It also takes a number of hours, thirty-six in the case of lyme disease, after attaching to transmit most diseases. If you find one attached don't freak out and run to the doctor. Only do so if you become sick or develop a rash. Carpe diem.
Larry Lyons writes a weekly outdoor column for Leader Publications. He can be reached at larrylyons@beanstalk.net