Ticks and diseases

Why ticks can be dangerous?

Tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease are the fastest-growing infectious disease concerns in the U.S. Prompt and proper tick removal is a critical step in preventing infection.

 TickEase is the right tool to easily, safely and completely remove all types of ticks from people and pets.

What are ticks?

Most people think ticks are a kind of insect. They’re not! Technically, they’re classified as arthropods and, more specifically, as acarines, which place them in the same group of “bugs” as spiders and mites. Practically, however, what really defines ticks is that they are obligate blood feeders (blood is all they feed on). A rather special feature of most ticks is that they typically stay attached to their host for days or a week to complete feeding (in contrast, mosquitoes are quick-in, quick-out blood feeders). Ticks also carry a wide variety of disease-causing germs, and they transmit these agents while blood feeding.

Typically, different species of human-biting ticks are associated with specific disease-causing pathogens. Relatively recent environmental changes, especially expansion of deer populations, have dramatically affected tick ecology and impacted public health in many parts of the United States. To stay disease-free, it’s important for families and individuals to clearly understand their tick-encounter risks and the best practices for preventive solutions.

 What diseases do ticks carry?

As the tick population continues to grow and as the tick range expands, scientists are also finding a growing list of disease-causing microbes transmitted by these ticks. The most well-known is certainly Lyme disease bacteria.

Babesia protoza, Anaplesma, Ehrlichia (and other rickettsia), encephalitis – causing viruses and Bartonella bacteria.

The fact is, while ticks in decades past were previously merely an inconvenience, they have become a common carrier of debilitating diseases and must be treated as such.