Tick Bite-ology

A closer look at what happens when ticks bite

  • Tick Bite-Ology! They've craweled up your leg...now what? A dozen secrets about tick piercing, sucking, and pathogen transmission revealed.
  • Microscopic view of ticks cut a hole in the skin and insert their mouthpart (hypostome). This is the extent of how far they can penetrate
  • The backward poining barbs (denticles) and a secret cement substance help secure the tick in your skin while they suck blood
  • Ticks spit saliva into the host while they feed. Tick saliva contains many bioactive substances to mask pain signals from the bite, to precent coagulation of the blood, and to ocercome many other host derived immune defenses
  • If you have been bitten before, tick saliva can cause a skin reaction within 18-72 hours. It can look severe, but by itself it is not a sign of disease....just a bite.
  • If the skin reaction expands to larger than a silver dollar , then it may be a sign of Lyme disease. This would be a good time to show your rash to a doctor and mention your tick bite.
  • Ticks grow as they blood feed, increasing more than 10x in size and 100x in weight. That same tiny tick that first bit you transforms into a bloated monster!
  • Scientist can determine how long a tick has been attached by measuring the tick. The tick's body elongates as it feeds but the scutum stays the same. The ratio of body length to scutum length is a useful index of tick attachment duration.
  • It takes more than 24 hours of attachment for numphal stage ticks to transmit lyme disease causing bacteria into your skin. It takes more than 48 hours for adult stage ticks to trnsmit lyme disease causing bacteria into your skin.
  • Studies show that the ticks people find biting them, about 75% of the nymphs and 20% of the adult females have been attached long enough to have transmitted pathogens
  • Although infection prevalence in ticks can vary, typically 20% (1 in 5) of numphs and 50% (1 in 2) of the adult females carry lyme disease bacteria. Larvae hatch from eggs uninfected.
  • Combining secrets 9 and 10, of the ticks people find biting, about 15% of nymphs and 9% of adult females (and 20% and 50%, respectively of the deer ticks not found) are likely to transmit Lyme disease bacteria
  • That's why it's a good idea to check for ticks every day during the spring, summer, and fall and to learn how to remove ticks safely