Ticks are a large subclass of arthropods that includes more than 54 thousand species. Basically, these are creatures up to 5 millimeters in size with six pairs of appendages and a characteristic oral apparatus. What are the types of ticks that pose a danger to humans?

Malicious representatives are distinguished by a variety of forms with a relatively small number of species. Ticks do most harm not with their bites, but with their consequences. In the oral apparatus of these arthropods, a large number of dangerous diseases are transmitted - encephalitis, Lyme disease, plague, typhus, typhoid fever, hemorrhagic fever and Q-fever. Other species are provocateurs of skin diseases - scabies, demodicosis.

You can distinguish dermansetoids from other ticks by a characteristic color with brown stripes on the back.

If you already have a large tick that has drunk with blood, it is recommended to carefully remove it and take it for analysis to any sanitary unit. Such a precaution will help you in time to recognize diseases that may come with a bite.
  Ixodic

In the literature, you can find another name - the shell mite, so named for strong chitinous integument.

Arthropod is active in the spring and summer. It is rarely possible to avoid bites of an ixodid tick, so doctors recommend the use of special vaccines against encephalitis. It is worth worrying about its use in advance - immunity arises only two weeks after the injection. But such a small precaution can protect you and your loved ones from a deadly disease.

Morphologically distinguish several varieties of ixodid ticks. The black tick loves dark, damp places. The characteristic color of its integument, as well as its small size, distinguishes it from other arthropods of this group.

The white ixodid tick has a creamy, whitish abdomen. A gray ixodid tick close to it is best recognized. It is such a tick that people most often find on themselves.

Argasovy

Gas

In the literature it is found under the name demodex. Demodex is a normal inhabitant of human skin. Problems begin with its excessive reproduction against a background of weakened immunity, malnutrition or taking antibiotics. Uncontrolled reproduction of the tick manifests itself in the form of demodicosis. This is an acute inflammatory process on the integument, accompanied by severe itching, acne, extensive areas of redness of the affected skin. Dermatologists are involved in the treatment of subcutaneous ticks.

Scabies

Earplug

Very rare in humans. The main owners of this arthropod are cats and dogs. In them, this arthropod causes acute inflammation of the middle and outer ear, which, without treatment, can turn into otitis media or even meningitis.

Bed

Spider web

The representative is not harmful to humans and animals. To a greater extent, plants, including cultivated ones, suffer from it. In plants, ticks not only damage the integument and suck out nutritious juices from the roots, but also transmit extremely dangerous diseases.

Predatory

This is a very large arachnid arthropod feeding on ticks. It is common where there is a large number of dust mites. For humans, it is absolutely safe and even useful. A predatory tick is a natural controller of populations of other microscopic arthropods.

Barn

It is also found as flour or bread mite. Getting together with unprocessed grain or the remains of cereal crops in the granary, it feeds on both flour and finished products. The presence of eggs or adults in food can lead to allergic reactions and digestive upsets.

Scheme of the external structure

Life cycle

Reproduction of some species occurs before the onset of the imaginal phase, that is, at the stage of tritonimph. The average tick lives quite a bit. Many individuals live only a few weeks.

Ixodid ticks are long-lived among these animals and can live up to several years.

If exposed to adverse conditions, some species may fall into a state of diapause. This is a condition in which metabolic processes in the body are slowed down, it is used to survive adverse conditions.

Species diversity and features

As noted above, tick species are extremely diverse. Consider some groups of these animals, the most important for humans and their economic activities. Among the ticks are agricultural pests. These species are carriers of the most dangerous diseases for humans, spread by these organisms - tick-borne encephalitis and. Specialists involved in ixodid ticks (sometimes incorrectly called "ixoid ticks"), state that they are the most significant for human health. These types of ticks are carriers of the most dangerous diseases for humans, spread by these organisms - tick-borne encephalitis and (Lyme disease). The genus Ixodes includes more than 240 species. It is this genus of ticks that is most significant for human health. In Russia, the carriers of the most dangerous diseases are two representatives of this genus: the taiga tick (Ixodes persulcatus) and the dog tick (Ixodes ricinus).

The taiga tick prevails in the Asian part of Russia, as well as in some European regions of our country. In the European part of Russia, the dog species dominates. Forest species is another variant of the name of a dog tick. The most common disease (for the northern hemisphere) transmitted by these organisms is borreliosis. It is caused by spirochetes that enter the bloodstream of a person when they are bitten by an infected tick. At the very beginning, this disease manifests itself:

• muscle aches
• chills
• headache
• general weakness

The damage to various body systems is gradually increasing, even fatal. Unlike Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis is a dangerous viral disease caused by a neurotropic, RNA-containing pathogen. This disease is characterized by seasonality due to the life cycle of ixodid ticks. In the Far East of Russia, a subtype of this disease is common, characterized by a more severe course and increased mortality. Similarly to Lyme disease, encephalitis at the very beginning is characterized by fever, malaise, muscle pain, headache. The dog and taiga tick are the main carriers of encephalitis in Russia. A bite of a taiga tick infected with a pathogen is dangerous for humans due to the fact that at the same time it passes a dangerous infection to the affected host. The bite is dangerous for people also by the fact that, in addition to encephalitis, it can spread borreliosis.

In some cases, some species of insects are confused with ticks. For example, lice are not ticks; they are insects. Also elk louse belongs to insects (otherwise it is called a moose tick). In fact, this is not a louse or a tick, but bloodsucking flies called deer bloodsucker (Lipoptena cervi). That is, the so-called elk mites belong to the class of insects, and not arachnids.

Subcutaneous view (demodex) under the microscope

Argas view

The rat tick is a representative of gamasidae. He, like the mouse, attacks rodents, birds and people. When bitten by an infected rat tick, itching and dermatitis develops. This species is also dangerous because it can infect even plague and rat typhus.

However, it does significant harm by hitting crops and houseplants.

Practical relevance and danger

To summarize, what ticks are dangerous to humans, what danger do they conceal in themselves, what is the danger of a certain species for humans? Of all the species diversity, ixodidae are believed to be the most dangerous to humans. Data on tick bite statistics show that not all ixodidae are carriers of infectious diseases. Many individuals do not carry the causative agents of infectious diseases, and their bite is fraught only with painful sensations. What ticks are dangerous for a person depends on what diseases they carry. Their number in a certain region and the level of their infection with the pathogen directly reflect the degree of risk to the population.

Encephalitis and borreliosis among the widespread diseases transmitted by these animals are the most dangerous, they should beware of people spending time in nature.

Itchy itch causes a much less dangerous, but very unpleasant disease and a fairly common disease. Dust mites, invisible to our eyes, are permanent residents of homes and can cause imperceptible damage to the health of the human respiratory and immune systems. Of course, modern science does not know everything about these animals, and further studies of this important group of species are required.

The size of ticks is very small - from 0.2 mm to 5 mm, while the dimensions of the female are slightly larger than the dimensions of only some species can reach 3 cm in length. The study of ticks is a section of zoology called acarology.

Of the variety of species in a person’s home, one can find gamasid ticks, saprophytes (house dust mites) and ixodid ticks.

Feeding on the blood of mammals, they can penetrate into living quarters with rodents (rats and mice) and usually live in places of communication (in the kitchen, in the bathroom, in the toilet), under baseboards, behind furniture.

It is almost impossible to see small dust with the naked eye. In human dwellings, they are most often found in pile of carpet on the floor, as well as in furniture upholstery, in soft toys, on clothes, in bedding - pillows, mattresses, blankets. The food for them is exfoliated particles of human skin.

Ixodid ticks can get into housing by attaching themselves to human clothing or animal hair, as well as things, firewood, bouquets of flowers, etc. The food for them is the blood and lymph of mammals, while the saturation process can last up to three weeks.

Ticks attack their prey during the warm season - from April to October, the most activity occurs in late spring - early summer. It is worth noting that the number of ticks that can infect a person with any disease, including tick-borne encephalitis, or Crimean, is only 1%, that is, bites of 99% of ticks are not dangerous for humans.

Ticks do not jump on their prey, they wait for it on the ground or in the grass. Once on the body, the tick does not immediately attach to the skin - several hours may pass until this point, which means that if you have small ticks in time to notice, then the bite can be avoided.

Having spotted, the tick bites through the skin and inserts into the wound a special pharyngeal outgrowth (hypostome) covered with chitinous teeth, which looks like a harpoon. That is why a tick, the size of which increases as it is filled with blood, is difficult to extract. This is usually done with tweezers. After removing the tick, the wound is treated with iodine solution or alcohol. Dressing is optional. Whether a person has been bitten by an encephalitis tick, the size and appearance of which does not differ from non-encephalitis, can be determined only in laboratory conditions, and therefore it is necessary to contact a medical institution as soon as possible.

To protect yourself from ticks, it is necessary to take special protective measures before going to the forest - put on clothes with long sleeves, put trousers in socks, wear a headdress and, if possible, use repellents that repel mites, which are applied to exposed areas of the body and clothes . If you plan to visit frequently places where attacks of these arthropods are possible, it is best to get a tick-borne encephalitis vaccine. Returning home, you should especially carefully examine yourself and your pet for pests, since the size of ticks that have not yet sucked onto the skin does not immediately detect them.

Compliance with these basic safety measures can save not only health, but also, possibly, life.

Ticks belong to the class of arachnids. More than 48,000 species of ticks are known. Ticks live in all climatic zones, on all continents. Not all ticks are dangerous to humans. Most varieties feed on decaying organics, mushrooms, plants and contribute to the formation of humus - the nutrient layer of the soil.

Most ticks are very small - up to 0.4 mm. But individual species reach a size of more than 1 cm. When the blood of an animal or a person is sucked, the tick can increase up to 2.5 cm. Ticks that feed on the blood of animals and people carry various infections, viruses, including deadly ones. Therefore, everyone must know what ticks are dangerous to humans, how they look, where they live, what danger they carry.

What ticks are dangerous to humans

Here are some types of ticks that can harm humans, from the least dangerous to the most dangerous ticks in the world:

• Barn ticks (flour, bread). They live in places of storage of cereals, grain, flour. They can attack people, cause allergic reactions. They quickly leave the human body, as they prefer plant food.
• Bed tick. Lives in blankets, pillows, mattresses, carpets, slippers. It feeds not on human blood, but on dead cells that every person loses daily (for example, in the form of dandruff). The danger to humans is an allergic reaction to tick excretion, which can occur in itching, rashes on the skin, in the most severe cases, bed mites cause bronchial asthma.
• Dust mite. Lives in the dust of an apartment. Vital activity and danger are similar to a bed tick.
• Scabies mite (itch). It has a very small size, up to 0.3 mm, it is almost impossible to notice it on the skin. A tick is transmitted from one person to another by touching, shaking hands, sharing things in everyday life. A tick drills tunnels in the upper layer of the skin and moves along them. The activity of the tick causes severe itching.

The most dangerous ticks in the world

Ixodid ticks are extremely prolific; the female lays up to 17,000 eggs. But not many individuals survive to adulthood. The tick itself is not particularly dangerous, the main danger is that it can carry many infections. The most serious tick-borne infection is encephalitis.

In the mildest case, encephalitis occurs in the form of a fever, the symptoms of which disappear without a trace after about 10 days. If the virus infects the brain, the consequences can be the worst: paralysis, mental illness, death.

To avoid danger, you need to take precautions when gathering in nature, in the forest. If a tick that bites into the body is found, it is necessary to remove it correctly, treat the bite site, and pass the tick to a laboratory for research. It is advisable to consult a doctor and take tests to start treatment if necessary.

In Russia, ticks of the Ixodidae family () are of greatest importance as carriers of infectious diseases.

The family of ixodid ticks includes the genera: Ixodes, Amblyomma, Anomalohimalaya, Bothriocroton, Cosmiomma, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Margaropus, Nosomma, Rhipicentor, Rhipicephalus.

Representatives of five genera of the Ixodidae family are found in Russia: Ixodes, Dermacentor, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Rhipicephalus.

Ticks of the same family are very similar, so the exact species are not shown in the photo.

Ixodes

The body length of the male and the hungry females is from 1.5 to 6 mm, the fed females are up to 15 mm.

The habitat occupies most of the globe, penetrating in the north and south to the polar latitudes.

In Russia, the main carriers of infections affecting humans and animals are two types of ticks of this genus:   (dog tick) and   (taiga tick).

Author of the photo: Stanilevich Nikolay (Minsk region)

  A tick of the genus Ixodes

The species of Haemaphisalis punctata, Haemaphisalis sulcata and Haemaphisalis otophila, Haemaphysalis leporis palustris (hare mite) are of the greatest epidemiological importance.

The habitat is predominantly flat and foothill steppes, partially semi-deserts and forests.

Distribution - the south of the European part of the Russian Federation (mainly the North Caucasus - Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Dagestan), Crimea, the Far East, Altai, the south of Western Siberia, Transbaikalia, Central Asian Republics, Kazakhstan, Transcaucasia, Turkmenistan, Eastern Europe, Japan , China, Germany, France, Australia.

The body length of males and hungry females is from 3 to 14 mm.

Hyalomma

The body length of males and hungry females is from 4 to 10 mm, and the fed females are up to 25 mm. The color of ticks is from red-brown to dark brown.

  Female tick of the genus Hyalomma

Author of the photo: Sergey Markov (Crimea. Feodosia district)