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TICK INFORMATION
Types of Ticks Found in Connecticut
Ticks
are part of the arachnid family and most ticks have a hard body shell, elongated
mouthparts, and eight legs in the nymph and adult stages. Ticks do not fly or
jump. They live in tall grass, leaf litter and shrubs.
The life cycle of the tick requires 2 years to complete. The adult female ticks drop off their hosts (white-tailed deer are the host for the blacklegged ticks) and lay approximately 2,000 eggs in the spring. These eggs hatch into larvae later in the summer. The larvae then feed on mice and other small mammals. Once they feed, the larvae are inactive until the next spring when they turn into nymphs. Nymphs then feed in late spring and early summer, and become adults. In the fall, adults attach to and feed on hosts such as dogs, cats, white-tailed deer and humans. The adult females mate, drop off their hosts and lay their eggs in the spring as the cycle starts again.
Most cases
of Lyme Disease are transmitted by the bite of an infected blacklegged tick
during the nymphal stage in the spring and summer.
Infected adult ticks can also transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme
Disease into the fall.
Adult ticks
only die after they live their two year cycle; adult female ticks die once they
lay their eggs in the early spring, and adult male ticks die after they mate in
the late fall.
Ticks do not die off in the winter months. Since ticks live in tall grasses, leaf litter, shrubs, trees, and the like, they are protected from the cold temperatures. If the tick does not find a suitable host by winter they may continue to search for blood to feed on throughout the winter. Ticks continue to feed whenever the temperature is above 35 degrees.
Types of Ticks found in Connecticut
Blacklegged
Tick:
Blacklegged tick is the corr
ect
common name for the tick popularly known as the “deer tick”.
This tick transmits three tick borne diseases: Lyme Disease, human
babesiosis, and human anaplasmosis. Unfed
female Blacklegged ticks have a reddish brown body and a dark brown plate
located behind the mouthparts. The
length of the female tick from the tip of the mouth to the end of the body is 3
to 3.7mm (about 1/10th of an inch).
Unfed male Blacklegged ticks are smaller than the females (about 2 to
2.7mm) and are completely dark brown. Females
who are engorged with blood become fairly large and are often confused at this
stage for the American Dog tick. Blacklegged
ticks feed on a wide variety of mammals and birds and require 3 to 7 days to
ingest blood, depending on the stage of the tick.
American
Dog Tick:
The American
Dog tick is the primary carrier 
of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and is also the carrier of tularemia.
This tick does not carry Lyme Disease.
It is the most common tick found in the Northeast U.S. and is also
commonly known as the wood tick. Adult
dog ticks feed on people and pets. Adult
ticks are reddish brown in color with silvery-gray or white markings on the back
and upper body. They are about
6.4mm (1/4 inch) in length. Engorged ticks may reach ˝ inch in length and resemble a
dark pinto bean. Dogs are the
favorite host of these ticks, but they will feed on any medium to large mammal.
Lone
Star Tick:
This tick is named
for the conspicuous spot
located in the middle of the back. Lone
Star Ticks are the carriers of human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME).
This tick does not transmit Lyme Disease, but has been linked to a Lyme
Disease-like illness with a rash and other similar symptoms. This tick is some what scarce in Connecticut, and is mainly
found in coastal communities from Fairfield to New Haven counties.
The Lone Star tick has a wide host range, and will feed on virtually any
mammal.
Packard
Tick:
Also known as the
Woodchuck tick, prefers mostly medium sized mammals as hosts and can be found on
woodchucks, opossums, skunks, raccoons, and foxes.
Brown
Dog Tick:
Found mostly on dogs, these ticks
love to feed mainly on the ears, but can also be found on the head, neck, legs,
chest, and belly. Occasionally
people may be fed on by these ticks.
Lyme
Disease: Lyme
disease is a bacterial disease caused by Borrelia burgdorferi carried by
Blacklegged ticks. Within 1 to 2 weeks of being infected, people may have a
"bull's-eye" rash with fever, headache, and muscle or joint pain. Some
people have Lyme disease and do not have any early symptoms. Other people have a
fever and other "flu-like" symptoms without a rash.
After
several days or weeks, the bacteria may spread throughout the body of an
infected person. These people can get symptoms such as rashes in other parts of
the body, pain that seems to move from joint to joint, and signs of inflammation
of the heart or nerves. If the disease is not treated, a few patients can get
additional symptoms, such as swelling and pain in major joints or mental
changes, months after getting infected.
Rocky
Mountain Spotted
Fever:
The
most severe and most frequently reported tick borne disease in the United
States. The disease is caused by Rickettsia rickettsii, a species of bacteria
that is spread to humans by ixodid (hard) ticks. Initial signs and symptoms of
the disease include sudden onset of fever, headache, and muscle pain, followed
by development of rash. The disease can be difficult to diagnose in the early
stages, and without prompt and appropriate treatment it can be fatal.
Human
Babesiosis:
The
disease is a malaria-like syndrome characterized by fever, fatigue, and
hemolytic anemia lasting from several days to a few months. Headache, fever,
chills, nausea, vomiting, myalgia, altered mental status, disseminated
intravascular coagulation, anemia with dyserythropoiesis, hypotension,
respiratory distress, and renal insufficiency are common. However, symptoms of
babesiosis do not show periodicity. The incubation period varies from 1 to 4
weeks. In the United States, there have been hundreds of cases of babesiosis
caused by B microti, carried by Blacklegged ticks, mainly from southern New
England, and specifically from Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard, Shelter Island,
Long Island, and Connecticut.
Human Anaplasmosis: The disease appears to be less common than Lyme disease. Human anaplasmosis (HA) is a bacterial disease transmitted to humans by the deer tick or blacklegged tick. The signs and symptoms of human anaplasmosis may include: Fever (over 102°), Severe headache , Muscle aches, Chills and shaking.
Less frequent symptoms of human anaplasmosis include nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain, cough, diarrhea, aching joints and change in mental status.
Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis: The symptoms of Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis may include a sudden high fever, headache, muscle aches (myalgia), chills, and a general feeling of weakness and fatigue (malaise) within a few weeks after initial infection. In addition, in many cases, laboratory findings may indicate an abnormally low number of circulating blood platelets (thrombocytopenia), a decrease in white blood cells (leukopenia), and an abnormal increase in the level of certain liver enzymes (hepatic transaminases). In some individuals, symptoms may progress to include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, and/or confusion. If HME is left untreated, life-threatening symptoms, such as kidney failure and respiratory insufficiency, may develop in some cases. Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis is caused by the bacteria Ehrlichia chaffeensis (or E. chaffeensis). E. chaffeensis is carried and transmitted by the Lone Star tick and the American dog tick.
One of the best ways to control ticks on residential properties is to hire commercial applicators to treat for ticks in the yard. The best tick control pesticide products are restricted to licensed pesticide applicators. An additional fall application may be used to control adults.
Blacklegged Ticks:
American Dog Ticks:
Lone Star Ticks:
Brown Dog Ticks:
Bulls Eye Rash (Lyme Disease):
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Rash:
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