Ticks are the most common arachnids that attack animals and humans. According to statistics of 2011, more than 570 thousand people suffered from the invasion of these bloodsuckers in Russia. The main danger is posed by infections carried by these arthropods: encephalitis, lymporreliosis, and for animals - piroplasmosis. Lovers of outdoor recreation can protect themselves by observing simple rules of conduct in the forest and park. First of all, it is important to know where the ticks are found.
Before your first spring hike in a forest or park, contact your local sanitary and epidemiological station. Find out if there are cases of tick-borne encephalitis and other diseases in your area. If necessary, you will be referred for vaccinations. Sanitary and epidemiological control workers will tell you at what time and where you can expect an infestation of ticks.
If you do not use protective clothing and special anti-mite agents, there are many chances to pick up a bloodsucker during outdoor activities. This is an extremely numerous class - there are more than 48 thousand species in it! Most live on land and in fresh water, feeding on decaying organic matter.
In green spaces, you are more likely to encounter soil mites. They love to chew on plant debris that can be found in forest litters. Already in April, adult females begin to be active and creep out to hunt. For the normal maturation of eggs, they need high-calorie food - the blood of animals and humans.
Predators move to green thickets and wait for their prey. They can take a fancy to meadows and shrubs, clearings and forest edges. Most of the ticks are found in well-humid and moderately shady places - among deciduous trees, in ravines, dense grass, young aspen, hazel and raspberry forests. If there is a body of water, they will hide in coastal thickets.
Your task is to explore characteristic landscapes and avoid places of the greatest accumulation of ticks. Some of their representatives are able to smell the victim at a distance of ten meters. Therefore, a particularly large number of predators accumulate on the grass and bushes along the roads where people constantly walk. You should also beware of the branches that hang over the path at a height of no more than a meter.
Sanitary doctors point out that the highest number of ticks is observed in the period from late April to early July. At this time, the best places for walking in the fresh air will be well-lit and windy glades, groves and plantings without undergrowth, dry coniferous forest. Arthropods are most active in the mornings and evenings. During the day, in hot weather and during rain, the danger of an attack by bloodsuckers is greatly reduced.
Gradually, the nutritional reserves of the ticks are depleted and they die out. Already in hot June-July, they almost never attack humans. However, until the end of September, some representatives of this class may be temporarily activated, so throughout the entire "tick season" do not forget about precautions.
