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As the weather heats up, trees grow and flowers blossom, a threatening threat awaits us, ready to make its next victim. This creature is like a snake in the grass, it's worse: it has eight legs, catches the flesh and survives by feeding on blood. We are talking about ticks of course.
Many different species of these tiny arachnids are present throughout the world, but only a few of them bite and transmit diseases: the American tick, the blacklegged tick (also called deer tick), the brown tick , the Gulf Coast ticks, the solitary star tick and the black-legged tick.
Rhode Island is home to four, according to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- American dog tick
- Diseases transmitted: Tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
- Blacklegged tick
- Diseases transmitted: Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis and others
- Brown dog tick
- Diseases transmitted: Rocky Mountain Fever
- Lonely star
- Diseases transmitted: Heartland virus, tularemia and others
When ticks hatch eggs, they must "eat blood at every step to survive," according to the CDC. Their size varies from less than one-eighth of an inch to about five-eighths of an inch. And they find their hosts as a highly qualified killer, detecting breathing, body odor, body heat, moisture and vibration.
"Some species can even recognize a shadow," writes the CDC. "In addition, ticks choose a place of waiting by identifying the most frequented access routes, and then wait for a host, resting on the tips of herbs and shrubs."
Once on the skin, the tick inserts its feeding tube, which sometimes has barbs to keep the virus in place. Many species also secrete a cement-like substance to keep them firmly attached.
Dog owners and most people who grew up in tick homes know how dangerous they can be. Lyme disease, for example, is transmitted by the blacklegged tick in the northeastern and northwestern Midwest, and by the blacklegged tick along the Pacific coast. A recent study found that almost half of the counties in the United States now have ticks that can spread Lyme disease.
And the data backs up that.
Each year, about 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the CDC by state health departments. In 2017, however, more than 42,000 confirmed and probable Lyme cases have been reported to federal health officials. This includes 595 confirmed cases in Rhode Island and 537 probable cases.
And the actual number could be much higher, the latest estimates suggesting that about 300,000 Americans could contract Lyme disease each year, the CDC said.
But ticks can also transmit a multitude of other diseases to humans and animals. Tularemia and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, for example, can be fatal. Anaplasmosis and Borrelia miyamotoi, meanwhile, can cause fever, chills and headache.
As with any health problem, prevention should be your first line of defense. The CDC recommends treating your clothes, shoes and camping gear with permethrin. You can apply an insect repellent registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and avoid woody or bushy areas with tall grass and leaves. In addition, you should always check clothes and animals when you get inside and take a shower soon after. Ticks are known to be under the arms, in and around the ears, in the navel, in the groin area, at the back of the knees and even around the hair.
If you find a tick, remove it as soon as possible with the help of a tweezers. Make sure to straighten yourself with constant and even pressure to make sure that part of the tick does not break into the skin. Once out, clean the bite area with rubbing alcohol or water and soap.
Dan Hampton, a member of Patch's national staff, contributed to this report.
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