Ticks: species with photos and descriptions, where they live, what they eat

Blood-sucking ticks are one of the most dangerous insects that you can encounter in Russia. Why is this so? How will ticks behave in 2021? Where are the most unfavorable areas from the point of view of tick activity located? How to protect yourself from parasites and what to do if you have already been bitten?

The main danger posed by ixodid ticks is various viral and bacterial diseases that they can transmit through bites. It could be:

• Tick-borne encephalitis
• Tick-borne rickettsioses
• Human granulocytic anaplasmosis
• Tularemia
• Ixodid tick-borne borreliosis
• Babesioses
• Q fever
• Crimean hemorrhagic fever
• Siberian tick typhus
• Human monocytic ehrlichiosis

Not all ticks are carriers of dangerous infections. For example, out of 44,892 ticks examined in 2021 in the laboratory of the Moscow Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology, only 18.7% of individuals turned out to be carriers of borreliosis. Thus, not every bite promises large-scale health problems, however, in order to find out the prospects right away, it is necessary to submit a tick removed from the wound for analysis and monitor the dynamics of your well-being in the first months after the bite, otherwise advanced infections can cause irreparable harm to health and treatment will be take a long time and have complications.

Nothing about ticks

Many people consider ticks to be insects, but in fact they belong to the class of arachnids. In the modern world there are more than 50 thousand different species. Some of them pose no threat to humans, others can cause a little harm, and there are representatives that are carriers of various diseases fatal to humans and animals. Therefore, you need to fight ticks, use protective equipment when going outside, and immediately destroy them if they are infested at home. The size of ticks does not exceed 3mm. As a result, they are not easy to detect. Mite species are divided into two large groups based on food preferences: saprophages and predators. Saprophages feed on organic debris. They cause more harm in agriculture. But predatory species, on the contrary, feed on animals and plants. It is this species that poses the greatest threat to all living organisms. There are species that simply drink blood and fall off, but there are also those that carry dangerous viruses that are fatal to humans.

Ticks can live without food for up to three years. Therefore, during cold periods, all vital processes in their body slow down, which allows them to calmly survive the winter. Despite the fact that in winter the risk of catching a tick is very small, such cases still exist. If autumn is warm, then their activity continues this season.

Ticks live everywhere. Some species are quite rare, others are more common, but the species' habitat covers the entire planet. Even in water there are representatives of parasites. But still, the main places where they accumulate are forests and meadows. Premises for storing agricultural products are also favorite places, but such species are generally not dangerous to humans. Pets are particularly affected by ticks. After walking with your pet, be sure to inspect it for parasites. Some species live in houses, so precautions even at home will not be superfluous.

Tick ​​season

The peak of tick activity occurs in May-June, when the weather in the Moscow region and the capital remains warm, but not hot. Then there is a decrease in tick activity by month by mid-summer, and an increase in the number of bitten ticks begins again in late August - early September. The tick season coincides with the period of dacha work, so it is summer residents and gardeners who are at risk.

To reduce the risk of being bitten at the dacha, sanitary and epidemiological services offer services for treating the area from ticks in the Moscow region. The cost of this procedure depends on the area of ​​the land plot and ranges from 1,500 to 3,000 rubles. In addition to protecting the area from bloodsuckers, you need to protect yourself. Every person should inspect his body after being in the garden or garden for the presence of crawling or already attached arthropods. When working on the site, it is recommended to treat skin or clothing with special tick-repellent agents.

Important!

A tick bite that is not a carrier of infection can cause a severe allergic reaction in a person.

Ticks in the Moscow region

Ticks in Moscow in 2021 - 2021 can also be found in any park area. The prevalence of this parasite is difficult to control, so you should avoid walking on lawns, among bushes, away from paved paths. The administrative website of the capital indicates which parks have been treated against ticks in Moscow. But this does not mean that there is 100% confidence that these places do not pose any danger.

On a note!

You need to be careful while walking in Izmailovsky, Bitsevsky parks, and Losinoostrovsky Nature Reserve. In the summer months, when ticks are dangerous in the Moscow region and Moscow, before going to large forested areas you need to use special repellents against bloodsuckers.

Tick-borne diseases

The bloodsucker of the arthropod subclass is dangerous because it can be a carrier of unpleasant viruses. In the Moscow region and Moscow, the most common ticks are ixodid ticks (Ixodoidea), which can infect a number of serious diseases:

1. Tick-borne encephalitis is a dangerous infectious disease that affects the nervous and cardiovascular systems and disrupts the functioning of internal organs. If the victim is not provided with timely assistance and treatment, the disease can cause disability or even death.
2. Borreliosis or Lyme disease is a disease caused by bacteria. They affect internal organs and reduce the body's immunity. If the disease is not treated, it becomes chronic and can lead to irreversible consequences for human health.
3. Anaplasmosis is a less dangerous disease that reduces the victim’s immunity and promotes the development of inflammatory processes in the body.
4. Ehrlichiosis is a bacterial disease that disrupts the functioning of internal organs. Often the infection causes pathologies and deterioration in the quality of life of the bitten person.

All these diseases can be successfully cured if you seek help in the first 2-3 days after the parasite attack. Immediately after discovering an attached bloodsucker on the body, you need to carefully remove it and take it to the nearest laboratory. There are several medical centers in the capital and Moscow region that accept parasites for analysis. Addresses and names of institutions for Moscow residents:

Diseases transmitted by ticks

The most dangerous virus is tick-borne encephalitis. In the Moscow region, you can conduct a test for tick encephalitis in Odintsovo, Vnukovo, Mytishchi, Shchelkovo, Dmitrov and other cities. The largest medical institutions near Moscow are:

Psychoneurological Department - Chekhov

Where to get it

Where do encephalitis ticks come from?

In the spring-summer period, Russia occupies a leading place in the number of citizens affected by tick bites. The encephalitis virus is carried by birds, pets and other warm-blooded animals. Ticks become infected from these vectors and transmit the virus to humans through their bite. You can pick up a tick anywhere - both in the forest while walking, and in your own garden or city park. Even professional treatment of summer cottages and city parks cannot 100% destroy all ticks, so there is always a risk of being bitten.

There is a rumor that in the thirties the Japanese planted ticks in Russia; they were considered a biological weapon.

Tick ​​activity in the Moscow region for 2021

The appearance of parasites is associated with weather conditions and the climate of a particular area. Ixodid ticks are the most common in Russia. Their active season begins in early spring and ends in late autumn, when the temperature on the thermometer approaches sub-zero levels. In the Moscow region, arthropods usually appear in early April. Due to the abnormally warm winter of 2021, residents of the capital region began to complain about tick bites in early March. But doctors note that the number of patients has decreased compared to the same period last year. By the end of May, 2,018 people were registered as victims of tick bites, while in the same period of 2019 there were 5,461 people. Doctors attribute the decrease in the number of patients to acaricidal treatments against ixodid parasites in more than 25 hectares of the Moscow region. With the arrival of warmer weather, a period of tick activity begins in other regions of the Russian Federation:

• in February-March in the south - in the Krasnodar and Stavropol Territories, Volgograd and Rostov Regions, Crimea, the Republics of Adygea and Kalmykia;
• in March-early April in the Khabarovsk Territory, Altai and Khakassia;
• in April in the European part of Russia;
• in May-June in the Urals and Siberia.

Endemic areas where there is a high risk of people becoming infected with tick-borne encephalitis and borreliosis include Toldomsky and Dmitrovsky in the Moscow region. The Novosibirsk, Sverdlovsk, Tver, Ivanovo and Kostroma regions, Krasnoyarsk and Perm regions are no less dangerous.

The most effective ways to control ticks

Prompt destruction of parasites with a guarantee of results is carried out by SES employees. They exterminate ticks using powerful acaricidal agents and professional equipment. Domestic and foreign-made drugs contain chemicals approved by Rospotrebnadzor and meeting the requirements of SanPiN. For the safety of users, the dosage of poisons in household insecticides is often underestimated; mites do not die due to the resistance they develop. Disinfectors calculate the concentration of the active substance taking into account the area and degree of infection of the plot of land, the number of grasses and shrubs growing on it up to 1.5 m high. After specialists treat the garden plot, both adult ticks and larvae, adults and nymphs die from arthropods. If the plot borders on a forest, then professionals disinfest the surrounding areas. The effectiveness of the destruction of parasites is ensured by passing through several stages:

• spraying the area with pesticides from dusters;
• injection of cold or hot fog using steam generators;
• barrier treatment - applying protective agents around the perimeter of the site.

It is recommended to schedule a call to the SES staff in early spring, when ticks awaken from hibernation and crawl to the surface. The treatment also needs to be carried out during another peak of parasite activity - August and September. Customers of services need to take into account weather conditions - the optimal result from disinfestation is achieved in calm weather 2 days after the last rain. But it is desirable that no precipitation is observed 3-5 days after the specialists’ visit. The onset of the active season for ticks depends on the weather and climate of the arthropod’s habitat. Planned acaricidal treatment of natural foci of infections reduces the risk of infection by viruses transmitted by blood-sucking parasites. Disinfestation of private areas in the spring and summer also contributes to a reduction in their numbers.

There are more ticks in the east than in the west

The degree of danger of contracting tick-borne encephalitis within the main tick habitat increases from west to east. Cases of disease are recorded especially often in the southern regions of the Far East. Most likely, this is due to humid, warm summers and the presence of mixed forests.

The most dangerous regions of the Far East:

• Amur region;
• Sakhalin;
• Khabarovsk region;
• Jewish Autonomous Region;
• Primorsky Krai.

What is characteristic: following warming, ticks move from east to west, and the peak of their numbers and activity in different regions varies throughout the season.

Where do ticks live and what climate do they like?

Ticks can adapt to various environmental conditions and can even survive at low temperatures. But there are conditions that promote rapid reproduction and comfortable life of arthropod parasites.

The carriers of encephalitis and borreliosis are most often the taiga forest tick and the European tick. They prefer habitats where there is grass and shrubs, as well as areas of forest belt with dense vegetation. A safer place for animals and humans is where the grass is low and there is little vegetation. Ticks are not found on paved areas, wide trampled paths and clearings, but they love to wait for prey along paths.

Ticks are found in almost all types of forests, be it birch, spruce or mixed type. Only the coniferous environment is unfavorable for them. Encephalitis ticks live in almost all climatic zones of Russia, sometimes even found in harsh conditions beyond the Arctic Circle because they have learned to adapt to all environmental conditions.

Ticks feel most comfortable in areas with high levels of humidity.

In Russia, encephalitis ticks are found from Siberia to semi-deserts. Many cases of attacks have been recorded in the Moscow region and adjacent territories, in the Caucasus, in the Altai Republic, Volgograd, Kemerovo and Kirov regions. They are most common in the Far East, in the Central regions of Russia and in the Northwestern District.

The best weather for tick development is warm and humid, which is why the main peak of development occurs in spring and early summer . Ticks cannot tolerate dry and hot weather; the scorching sun is destructive to them.

In which regions of Russia are there few ticks?

These bloodsucking creatures are least often found in the Northern regions of Russia, Siberia, the Urals, Magadan, Murmansk, Kamchatka and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. But this does not mean at all that there are no ticks there and you can forget about precautions when visiting forests and parks.

Narcology department - Chekhov

Where is it issued?

How to get certificate 086/у in Chekhov in 2021

Map and address

Diet of ticks

Depending on their diet, ticks are divided into:

• Saprophages that feed on organic matter.

Saprophages are involved in the process of converting humus, therefore they are considered very useful living beings. Parasitic mites, whose diet consists of plant sap, cause significant damage to agriculture. They destroy crop reserves at high speed.

Dust or scabies mites eat dead particles of human skin. Barn mites cause serious damage to food stored in warehouses. Subcutaneous mites eat fat that accumulates in human hair follicles. Spider mites suck the juices of various plants, including cultivated ones. Ear mites feed on the fat layer located in the ear canals.

• Predators that parasitize both animals and plants.

Blood-sucking ticks are constantly in their hiding places, where they wait for their potential victim. On the legs of these arachnids there are special claws and suction cups that allow them to cling to clothing, the body or skin of humans or animals. After they land on the body of their victim, they move to their places of vital activity. This could be the armpits, groin, head or neck area, etc. In this case, mites can parasitize the body of other types of mites or thrips.

Ticks, and especially their bites, are quite dangerous for humans, since parasites are carriers of fatal diseases such as encephalitis and others that are no less dangerous.

Ticks can remain without food for 3 years, but if they are very lucky, they become quite voracious, increasing in weight up to 120 times after being saturated with blood.

The 5 Most Dangerous Ticks in the World Watch this video on YouTube

Types of ticks with photos and descriptions

Scientists know about more than 40 thousand species of ticks, which are divided into 2 main groups. For example:

• Parasitiforms, such as gamasid, argasid, nutallium and ixodid ticks.
• Acariformes, such as scabies, hair, feather, marine, freshwater, thyroglyphoid, acaridia, oribatiformes, sarcoptiformes and thrombidiformes.
• Haymaking ticks are also isolated as a separate group.

Main types of ticks and their description:

Ixodid ticks

They differ in that their body is covered with reliable chitinous plates. Moreover, they can have quite impressive sizes. There are species that reach a length of up to 2.5 cm. This type of tick prefers to parasitize in temperate latitudes, where they hide in the leaves of trees and shrubs. Therefore, they are found on almost the entire Eurasian continent. Potential victims of ixodid ticks are wild or domestic animals, as well as humans. If it gets on the skin of its victim, it will be able to feed on blood for several weeks. The female is quite fertile, as she is capable of laying up to 17 thousand eggs per season.

Argasid mites

They prefer to live in crevices of various buildings and outbuildings, and can also live in bird nests, which birds do not use. Their potential victims are poultry and animals, although they can also attack humans. They are often found in chicken coops. Argas mites bite quite painfully, and a profuse rash appears at the site of the bite and unbearable itching occurs. This parasite is characterized by soft skin, and the head protrudes slightly beyond the body and seems barely noticeable.

Armored mites

They are found on the soil surface, although there are species that live in trees. These ticks are not parasites, since they feed on natural food, in the form of mushrooms, lichens, living plants and their remains, and they also eat various carrion. Despite this, oribatid mites pose a certain danger to both birds and animals. The fact is that they can infect with various types of helminths, including tapeworms.

Gamasid mites

They settle in bird nests, chicken coops, and also in rodent burrows, since they parasitize on them. This parasite lives for a little more than 6 months, growing up to 1 mm in length. During this period of time, the parasite can cause serious damage to poultry farms. Their vital activity leads to significant loss of feathers in birds, as well as the appearance of extensive scratching on the skin.

Subcutaneous mites

They live under the skin of humans or animals, causing a lot of discomfort. However, if parasites are not properly controlled, they can live for years, causing severe itching and irritation. The female lives no more than 3 months, but during this period she lays an average of 100 eggs, from which viable individuals emerge in just a couple of days.

Scabies mites

These are parasites that can cause a difficult-to-treat disease called scabies. At the same time, ticks parasitize both humans and animals. The problem is that parasites make a lot of tiny passages in the skin of a person or animal, which leads to itching and redness. Ticks feed on skin secretions. Adult ticks live no more than one and a half months, but during this time the female manages to lay eggs several times.

What to do if you are bitten by a tick

Not all ticks are carriers of infection, but it is impossible to immediately understand whether it is dangerous or not. When an insect is identified, you need to carefully remove it from the body, and then take it to specialists in Chekhov for analysis. Experts recommend removing ticks using one of the following methods:

• by contacting a medical facility if it is located near the scene of the incident;
• using tweezers, provided that the insect’s body is not damaged and the infection does not enter the body;
• with your hands, carefully unscrewing and untwisting the tick so as to slowly pull out its proboscis (it is recommended to use a bandage or gauze);
• thread, grabbing the proboscis as close to the base as possible, and then pulling the insect out.

Birth certificate for pregnant women in Chekhov in 2021

After removing the tick, you should wash your hands with soap. If a black dot is visible at the site of the bite, it means that part of the proboscis is stuck under the skin. You need to anoint the area with alcohol or iodine, and then consult a doctor in Chekhov.

Experts do not recommend using oil to remove ticks; it clogs the pores and blood vessels of the skin.

What diseases do they carry?

The tick can be the host of many pathogens. But the most famous of them are the tick-borne encephalitis virus and the causative agent of Lyme disease , or, as it is otherwise called, borreliosis . The fundamental difference between them is that the virus is not affected by antibiotics. Vaccination can be done against encephalitis ticks . But this is a last resort. Usually it is done only to forest workers and once every five years to residents of areas where ticks are common.

There is so much talk about tick-borne encephalitis because it can be very dangerous - causing severe illness with meningitis and encephalitis. But in reality it is not as common as borreliosis. In total, tens of thousands of people turn to specialists for tick bites per season. Of these, about a thousand suffer from borreliosis, and less than a hundred from encephalitis.

Insurance

Insurance companies and banks offer to purchase tick bite insurance, which allows you to receive prompt first aid, removal of the parasite and then sending it for free laboratory testing, as well as hospitalization and treatment in case of infection with encephalitis or borreliosis.

It’s better to protect yourself with a good tick spray, but insurance won’t hurt either, especially in dangerous cities in the Moscow region, and these include:

• Taldomsky;
• Dmitrovsky;
• Lukhovitsky;
• Volokolamsk;
• Naro-Fominsk;
• Chekhovsky;
• Mozhaisky;
• Mytishchinsky;
• Domodedovo;
• Ramensky;
• Solnechnogorsk;
• Shakhovskaya.

Dangerous areas on the map of the Moscow region

In Moscow and the Moscow region, statistics are kept every year on the number of registered tick bites and the presence of dangerous viruses in their DNA. According to this information received in September last year, no cases of tick-borne encephalitis were recorded in Moscow and the Moscow region. Based on data obtained over past summer seasons, a list of dangerous areas on the map for ticks in the Moscow region and Moscow in 2021 was compiled:

• the first places were taken by the districts of Ramensky, Serpukhovsky, Kolomensky - in the territory of each of them more than 800 cases of attacks by arachnid parasites were registered;
• in Lyubertsy, Naro-Fominsk, Dmitrov and Noginsk regions, the number of bite cases exceeds 500;
• In the Chekhovsky, Pushkinsky districts, and Orekhovo-Zuevo, tick bites in 2021 are expected in an amount not exceeding 300 cases, as was the case in 2021.

On a note!

According to data for the last summer season, among the 15,857 registered reports of victims, about 4 thousand of them were bitten children. 5958 parasites were delivered for the study. The presence of borreliosis pathogens was confirmed in 15% of cases, 3.5% of ticks were infected with anaplasmosis bacteria, and ehrlichiosis pathogens were found in only 0.3% of the parasites studied.

The number of ticks in the Moscow region in 2021 depends on several factors. In the case of very hot and early summers, the parasites should be less active. They also do not like very rainy weather, which often occurs during the summer months in the metropolitan area.

The map of encephalitis ticks in the Moscow region in 2021 was created based on data for previous summer seasons. Despite the absence of recorded cases of encephalitis infection, there is a likelihood of the presence of encephalitic parasites in the Dmitrovsky, Taldomsky districts, and Dubna. Epidemiologists studying the question of whether there are encephalitis ticks in Moscow have been keeping statistics for the last few years. So far, not a single case of infection with a dangerous infection has been recorded.

Dangerous areas for ticks on the map of the Moscow region

During the tick period, the safest areas of the Moscow region in terms of the number of calls from victims are considered to be the eastern and southern ones:

• Odintsovo;
• Mozhaisk district;
• Shakhovsky district;
• Kashira district;
• Troitsk and others.

It is impossible to say for sure whether there are encephalitis ticks in the Moscow region. The virus can be brought from other northern neighboring regions: Yaroslavl, Tver, Ivanovo. Bloodsuckers are able to travel distances through transport or while on the human body.

Dangerous tick-infested areas of Moscow and Moscow region

31 cases of bites were recorded in Moscow - in the parks Losiny Ostrov, Serebryany Bor, Sokolniki and in the natural complex of Zelenograd.

We list the main places in Moscow where a tick can attack you:

• parks of the city of Zelenograd;
• forest park "Rublevo";
• Serebryany Bor;
• Elk Island;
• Filevsky Park;
• forest belt along Academician Pavlova Street;
• Krylatsky Park;
• park in Sokolniki;
• Lianozovsky Park and many others.

Parkas treated against ticks:

• Gorky Park;
• Museum-Reserve "Tsaritsyno";
• Boring Garden;
• Moscow Zoo;
• Park of Arts "Museon";
• Sparrow Hills;
• Park-estate "Kolomenskoye";
• Izmailovsky Park;
• Petrovsky Park;
• Catherine Park and many others.

Incubation period of the disease

The incubation period from the moment of infection to the onset of symptoms of this disease occurs from ten days to two weeks. Moreover, the incubation period may be longer if a person has been vaccinated against encephalitis, which is given in childhood.

There are two stages of this infection:

1. fulminant, when initial symptoms occur within the first twenty-four hours. In the absence of prompt medical care, people quickly fall into a coma and may die due to paralysis of the central nervous system;
2. protracted, when the incubation period can last a month, and sometimes even exceed thirty calendar days.

The first symptoms of the disease, often a week after relaxing in nature, are headache, nausea, vomiting and fever, which reaches forty degrees. The person also feels weak. After the first symptoms, paralysis, pain in the nerve endings, convulsions and loss of consciousness begin to appear.

Treatment of tick-borne encephalitis

Treatment of people who have become infected with tick-borne encephalitis occurs according to general principles, regardless of the presence of vaccination or the use of specific drugs that contain antibacterial antibodies.

During acute periods of the disease, even if it is mild, it is necessary for the patient to remain in bed until all symptoms of intoxication have passed. Almost complete immobilization and non-active transportation leads to minimal pain and, accordingly, improves recovery prognosis. It is also important to remember the need for a balanced diet for the sick person. The diet can be prescribed if dysfunction is detected in the stomach, intestines and liver.

In addition, many patients with encephalitis experience an imbalance in the vitamin balance and need to consume vitamins B and C. Therefore, at least three hundred milligrams of ascorbic acid should be administered daily, which will stimulate the functions of the adrenal glands and improve liver function.

Residents of the Moscow region were informed about a hotline for the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis

RIAMO - May 17. From May 17 to 28, the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare is holding an All-Russian hotline on the prevention of tick-borne encephalitis. This was reported on the official website of the Rospotrebnadzor department for the Moscow region.

Specialists from the departments of Rospotrebnadzor and the Centers for Hygiene and Epidemiology in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation will use hotlines to advise everyone on the rules of personal protection against tick attacks, what to do and where to go if a tick bite occurs, where to go if the result is positive for encephalitis due to tick bites tick. Experts will also tell you about the main signs of the disease and where you can get vaccinated against tick-borne encephalitis.

Information about operating hours and hotline contact numbers can be found on the websites of Rospotrebnadzor departments for the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Telephone number of the Unified Consultation Center of Rospotrebnadzor (free call).

Where does the encephalitis tick live?

It is impossible to distinguish an encephalitis tick from a regular tick by appearance. To find out whether there is a virus in his blood, he is sent to a laboratory for examination. The spreaders of the infection are ixodid ticks, especially European forest and taiga ticks. In a hungry state, the size of the arachnid’s body does not exceed 3 mm; as it feeds, the abdomen increases in size.

In the wild, the parasite lives in grass and on the lower branches of bushes. Prefers bright clearings, but without direct sunlight. Natural habitat:

• spruce, birch, deciduous, mixed forest;
• City Park;
• unkempt vegetation near the house;
• meadows;
• pastures.

The parasite does not tolerate coniferous forests, low grass - less than 7 cm in height, asphalt, compacted roads.

It feeds on blood and waits for prey on the grass and lower branches of bushes - up to 1.5 m. It can remain in a hungry state for several months. At the sight of a potential victim, it becomes more active - it falls from the branches onto the animal’s back, clings to a person’s clothing, and crawls out of the grass.

Encephalitis ticks

On a note!

Borreliosis is transmitted by a bite through saliva, encephalitis - through blood. If the parasite's head comes off if the parasite is removed incorrectly, infected blood gets into the person's wound and illness will follow.

Where are encephalitis ticks found?

The habitat of ixodid ticks covers the continents. They live almost all over the world, in all climatic zones. They quickly adapt to the most extreme conditions and are found even beyond the Arctic Circle. The greatest number is in tropical and subtropical forests with tall grass and high humidity.

In temperate climates, arachnids live everywhere. In Russia, the habitat begins with taiga and ends with semi-deserts. Regions endemic for tick-borne encephalitis are Karelia, the Far East, the North-Western District, the Volga region, most regions of the Central District. The distribution map of tick-borne encephalitis is updated annually, but in the above areas, the danger of an epidemic always remains at a high level.

Important!

Parasites appear in early May and disappear at the end of October, when there is a persistent decrease in temperature indicators. They are extremely active in dry, humid climates – long spring, rainy summer, warm autumn. They are not found in the hot summer when temperatures rise above 30 degrees Celsius. Optimal climatic conditions are temperature 15-25 degrees Celsius, high humidity.

Encephalitis ticks

How to protect yourself from ticks

No remedy or method of protection against ticks guarantees 100% safety, but combining several approaches at once helps to significantly reduce the likelihood of bites and transmission of infections as a result.

• Use tick repellents and acaricides regularly.
• When going into the forest for a walk or picking mushrooms, wear light, closed clothing on which ticks will be easy to spot.
• Do not lie on the grass without a blanket, do not place hammocks, garden chairs, swings or tents near bushes and thickets.
• While in nature, periodically inspect yourself for insects crawling on you and brush them off.
• If you have pets, consult with your veterinarian on the best way to protect them from ticks and purchase tick repellent drops, spray and/or collars.
• Teach your young children about ticks, why they are dangerous and how to be careful in nature to avoid being bitten.
• Regularly mow the grass in your dacha; the shorter it is, the less likely it is that ticks will hide in it.
• Carry out acaricidal treatments of the entire summer cottage in spring and autumn yourself or order the appropriate service from the SES.

Prevention and protective measures

To reduce the risk of Muscovites and residents of the Moscow region being bitten by a tick, parks in Moscow are being treated for ticks in 2019. Specialists from sanitary and epidemiological stations have been sent to public gardens and parks to destroy “unwanted guests” using special chemicals.

On a note!

Tick ​​extermination in Moscow is carried out from March to May, when they are just emerging from winter hibernation.

To protect yourself from the possibility of contracting encephalitis, you can use a special vaccine. This vaccination must be given before ticks appear in the Moscow region. The vaccine is given in two stages: the first injection is administered 2-3 months before ticks begin to bite - in November or December. Then the second vaccination is prescribed after 1-2 months. And only after it, after two weeks, immunity begins to act. The third injection is given after 12 months, then the vaccination is repeated every three years. Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis in Moscow is carried out in budgetary, commercial clinics.

The situation with ticks infected with the equally destructive infection borreliosis is worse - there is no vaccine against the infection. In case of infection, treatment with antibiotics is carried out. To prevent bloodsuckers from biting a person, you need to dress appropriately for a walk in the forest or park:

• choose closed clothes with long sleeves;
• tucking pants into socks, a jacket or shirt into pants;
• gather long hair in a ponytail or braid and put on a headdress;
• wear plain, light-colored clothing, which makes it easier to catch ticks.

Special acaricidal agents in the form of aerosols that repel bloodsuckers will also help. It should be remembered that after each visit to nature it is necessary to carefully examine the body for the presence of attached parasites.

Get it without consequences

Rospotrebnadzor specialists recommended contacting emergency rooms if an attached tick is detected. It is specified that it should be removed carefully so as not to tear off the proboscis, since it is deeply and well strengthened.

If a person decides to remove a tick on his own, then it is important to follow a certain procedure, department experts emphasized.

Grab the tick with tweezers or fingers wrapped in clean gauze as close to its oral apparatus as possible and holding it strictly perpendicular to the surface of the bite, turn the tick’s body around its axis and remove it from the skin. from a message from Rospotrebnadzor

After this, the bite site should be disinfected with alcohol, iodine or cologne, and your hands should be washed thoroughly with soap. If a black dot remains at the site of the bite (severation of the head or proboscis), then the wound should be treated with five percent iodine.

The removed tick must be sent for examination to a microbiological laboratory to exclude the possibility of infection with encephalitis, borreliosis and other infections. If the result is positive, you should immediately contact an infectious disease doctor, he will prescribe the necessary treatment.

When submitting a tick for examination, a certain algorithm should also be followed. It is important to keep the blood-sucking animal as intact as possible, and even better, alive.

“Place in containers for analysis, closed with lids (if they are not available, only in clean and dry glass transparent jars, tightly closed, with a wide neck), with a piece of damp cotton wool,” Rospotrebnadzor explained.

Bring the container with the tick to the address where the laboratory is located (when contacting, you must provide information about the date and territory where the tick bite occurred, and a contact phone number). If you cannot arrive on the same day, place the container with the insect inside in the refrigerator door. You can store the tick for three days in the refrigerator at +4 degrees. from a message from Rospotrebnadzor

At the same time, the department reminded how to reduce the risk of ticks when hiking in the forest. According to experts, you need to wear clothing that makes it difficult to access your body: long sleeves with cuffs that fit tightly to the wrist, tuck your shirt into your trousers, and tuck the ends of your trousers into socks and boots. In addition, cover your head and neck with a scarf and hood. You should also give preference to light-colored clothing - ticks are clearly visible on them. While in the forest, it is recommended to periodically examine yourself.

Photo: depositphotos/Erik_Karits

Precautionary measures

1. To avoid ticks, it is important to protect yourself in advance. Avoid untreated areas of forests and parks; it is advisable not to visit places with tall vegetation during the period of activity.
2. If you happen to end up in such a place, you need to cover all exposed areas of your body with clothing as much as possible, and be sure to wear a hat. The picture shows the most favorite places where ticks bite.
3. You can also use protection, such as repellents, which are sold in any supermarket.
4. When you arrive home, be sure to check yourself and your loved ones for ticks. Clothes should be washed in hot water, because the larval forms are invisible to the eye and can reach you already at home.
5. If a tick has embedded itself, take the measures listed in the previous subheading as soon as possible. In no case should you ignore the symptoms and blame everything on the flu, because the first signs of encephalitis at the initial stage are not much different from it, but the consequences are many times worse!

Ticks in the Moscow region 2021: dangerous areas

Only Taldomsky and Dmitrovsky districts are considered endemic for tick-borne encephalitis in the Moscow region. At the same time, ticks are found and annually bite people in absolutely all areas of the region, but either do not transmit any diseases at all, or transmit some other tick-borne infections. Unfortunately, there are no accurate statistical data reflecting the full picture. You can see where ticks live in the Moscow region in 2021 and see how far dangerous areas are from you on the map.

Sources

• https://kleshei-net.ru/kakie-byvayut-kleschi/
• https://apest.ru/kleshhi/kleshhi-v-gorodah/kleshchi-v-podmoskove-i-moskve/
• https://felisov.ru/kleshchi/otkuda-poyavilis.html
• https://prusakam.net/kleshhi/
• https://felisov.ru/kleshchi/v-podmoskove.html
• https://kurer-sreda.ru/2020/05/15/556648-karta-rasprostraneniya-kleshhevogo-encefalita-v-2020-godu
• https://Dezoff.ru/kleshhej/kleshchi-v-2020/
• https://apest.ru/kleshhi/kleshhi-v-gorodah/gde-obitayut-ehncefalitnye-kleshchi/

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Statistics on tick bites in the Moscow region

According to Rospotrebnadzor, last spring in the Moscow region, 749 calls to medical institutions for medical care were recorded. A year earlier, in 2019, there were 804 such requests . According to the regulations, all ticks brought by affected citizens were sent for laboratory testing. Result:

• 10% of the studied individuals are carriers of tick-borne borreliosis (Lyme disease) ;
• 2% suffer from granulocytic anaplasmosis;
• encephalitis was not detected in the examined ticks.

Based on statistics from past years, it can be assumed that there will be approximately the same number of tick bites in the Moscow region in 2021 as in previous years. That is, about 800 people. But we are talking only about those who went to the hospital; experts are sure that the number of bites is several times higher. People simply remove the tick from their body on their own and don’t go anywhere.

By the way, if a tick is removed in time and correctly, there is a high probability that it will not have time to infect a person with pathogens of dangerous diseases. Instructions for removing a tick at this link - how to properly remove a tick (video).