Ticks 101: How To Identify And Remove A Tick?

You might have heard about ticks or even experienced a tick bite. Ticks can be bothersome; this summer, you can protect yourself and your family from tick bites. This article will help educate you on how to identify ticks, remove them, and also how to prevent tick bites.

What Are Ticks?

Ticks can be found everywhere in the United States and are more common in Florida, especially the Great Tampa Area. They are known as one of the most notorious ectoparasites in Florida. The bite of a tick can be harmless; however, bacterial and viral diseases can be transmitted through their bites, some of which include Lyme Disease, tick-borne encephalitis, Ehrlichiosis, and spotted fever.

How Can You Identify Ticks?

Ticks are arachnids, and their body structure is quite similar to that of spiders. With a soft, oval body, the adult tick is wingless and has eight legs. They are parasitic and depend on a human or animal host to derive a blood meal. There are various species of ticks; the American dog ticks, Lone star ticks, and Black-legged ticks are common in Florida. Ticks also come in different colors ranging from brown to reddish-brown and even black.

Ticks usually peak during the warm summer season because they especially like warm temperatures and moist areas. You can find ticks in wooded areas and bushy, overgrown areas. They can attach to pets, rodents, clothing, and shoes and stay there without you knowing.

Three families of ticks are typical in Florida: Ixodidae(Hard ticks), Argasidae (Soft ticks), and Nuttalliellidae. The Lone Star ticks belong to the hard tick family and have a distinguishable feature; you can find them in wooded, open, grassy areas. The adult females have a golden brown color and white spots on the back. It is known to transmit Ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever.

The Brown Dog ticks are one of the most common ticks in Florida. It is the only tick in Florida known to be an indoor pest; it hides in cracks in the house, reproduces, and comes out at night to feed. They also attach to dogs and form populations in kennels. They transmit Ehrlichiosis and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

What Are The Varying Sizes Of Ticks?

Ticks are small and hard to spot. The various species look similar to the naked eye. Ticks vary in size from an apple seed to the size of a grain of sand. Also, they swell with blood when they feed, making them easy to identify. Ticks generally go through three life stages: larva, nymph, and adult. In the adult stage, they are about the size of an apple seed, while in the nymph stage, they are the size of a poppy seed, and then at the larva stage, the size of a grain of sand.

It is essential to note these features because identifying the tick species that bit you would help determine the pathogen it could carry, which would further prompt the diagnosis and the treatment needed. And if you can’t identify the ticks, it is beneficial to take a picture and show them to the doctors.

How Do You Recognize A Tick Bite?

The best way to protect yourself against ticks is to avoid their bites; when bitten, it is essential to identify the bite. Tick bites usually present as a small bump resembling a mosquito bite, and most times, you develop a rash indicating an allergic reaction or an infection with a tick-borne disease.

Ticks prefer warm and moist body areas like the armpits, hair, belly button, groin, inside and around your ears, and even the back of the knees. Once it settles in a preferred spot, it attaches to the skin and feeds off the host’s blood. In most cases, the host doesn’t feel the bite and only discovers they have bitten when they find the tick on the body. The tick doesn’t detach after feeding and can remain on the body for a few days up to two weeks. Also, they get bigger and easier to spot with time due to their blood feed.

Most tick bites are harmless; however, some symptoms can manifest after a tick bite, which are;

• Painful swelling at the bite site
• Rash
• Blisters
• Burning sensation at the bite site
• In severe allergic reactions, shortness of breath

There could also be;

• Fever and chills
• Full body rash
• Neck stiffness
• Headache
• Muscle and joint pains
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Vomiting and abdominal pains

Once you experience the above symptoms, you must present to the nearest health care center or hospital because it could be a severe infection. The physician will take a thorough history, examination, and investigation to determine if it is a tick-borne disease.

You can contact or schedule a visit with TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track. There are 19 urgent care locations in the Tampa Bay area, serving Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties.

How Can You Remove Ticks?

There are vaccines available for tick-borne encephalitis in the United States for both children and adults. However, no vaccine is available for Lyme Disease, so it is better to prevent the infection. For humid places like Florida, especially the Great Tampa areas, when you’re going for outdoor events, there are ways you can effectively prevent tick infestation, including:

• Wear long-sleeved and tightly knit fabrics, especially for children, so the ticks won’t have the surface area to hide.
• Also, you could wear brightly colored outfits so you can quickly notice the ticks when they are on your body.
• Tuck your pants into your socks, especially when walking through wooded areas and lawns.
• Wear boots and tuck your pants properly into them
• Walk on footpaths and avoid grasses.
• Using insect repellents that have 20% or more of DEET (N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide)
• Treat clothes with Permethrin.
• Before returning to the house, thoroughly check your body to ensure that ticks are not attached to your clothes.

Once you discover ticks on your body, take a picture or save the tick in a plastic bag if it needs to be tested for any disease.

Also, before removing the insect from the skin, avoid using Vaseline, oil, or alcohol to kill the tick. This will cause the tick’s mouth to remain on the body, leading to infection. After you remove them from the skin, you can kill them in alcohol or flush them down the toilet. You can also protect your pets from ticks by regularly grooming the lawns and inspecting their furs.

Take Home Message

Tick bites and infestations are more common than you think. The bites are usually harmless; however, they can cause serious infections. The ability to identify various species of ticks would help prevent an infestation and even help in the diagnosis and treatment if bitten.

For a suspected tick bite, please make an “Save My Spot” reservation on the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track website. There are healthcare professionals available to provide the best medical services, including diagnosis and treatment where necessary.