In our Quarter 1 Newsletter, sent out in early April, we made a brief notation that news outlets in the Northeast were already raising concerns about tick populations. Over the past couple weeks, this concern has increased and therefore we thought it'd be appropriate to share some information about ticks with our customers. 

Ticks are assumed an insect, but they are actually categorized in the Arachnida class. This class is divided even further into two orders.

"The Acari is a name for one of these orders. All mites and ticks belong to this order. Ticks comprise two main groups: hard ticks (family Ixodidae) and soft ticks (family Argasidae).

Tick mouthparts are located on the capitulum (or head) and can be easily seen from a dorsal view. Specialized structures called stylets (chelicerae and hypostome) are used to penetrate and remain firmly anchored in the host skin during feeding. The idiosoma is the tick body region that greatly expands with blood during feeding. Attached to the idiosoma are the legs.

Hard ticks have a thickened plate on the idiosoma that is called the scutum. The male tick's scutum covers the entire dorsal surface restricting expansion when blood feeding, As a consequence, males ingest smaller meals. Soft ticks lack a scutum, the integument is textured in appearance, and the capitulum can only be seen ventrally. Soft ticks are primarily a concern in arid regions. Information in this fact sheet pertains specifically to hard ticks because they are of public health importance in the northeastern United States.

Ticks undergo four developmental stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Nymphs and adults have four pairs of legs, while larvae have three pairs. All developmental stages of ticks are obligate blood feeders. They must obtain a blood meal to molt to the next life stage and for female ticks to develop eggs. Males remain on their host and mate with several females; they too will eventually drop from their host"(Cornell.edu - TickBio).

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/life_cycle_and_hosts.html

Below is a list of common ticks found in the Northeast and the types of disease they can  trasmit (the following information is taken directly from the CDC):

•  American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis): Rocky Mountain spotted fever; tularemia
• Blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis): Lyme disease; anaplasmosis; babesiosis
• Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus): Rocky Mountain spotted fever

Source: http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/life_cycle_and_hosts.html

For more information on ticks such as proper removal, visit the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website at: http://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html

To order directly on our website visit Order services.