
How a Tick Digs Its Hooks In - happy-go-lucky
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/03/20/594922001/watch-how-a-tick-digs-its-hooks-into-you
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blisterpeanuts
The article doesn't mention permethrine, a chemical derived from an oil found
in chrysanthemums that is deadly to ticks and other creepy crawlies.

Spray your clothes with permethrine--pants, shirts, socks, hats--and let them
dry. It kills the ticks as soon as they land on you.

Repellent is also a good idea, and tuck your pants into your socks. Don't
screw around; Lyme disease isn't something you want to get. It's rampant in
the Northeast, and is spreading.

Ticks in their nymph stage latch onto mice, so if you are at risk of ticks in
your yard, fill some cardboard tubes with permethrine-laced cotton or dryer
lint and toss them under bushes, woodpiles, etc. -- anywhere that mice might
hang out. Mice will take the lint back to their holes and line their nests
with it, and the permethrine will wipe out the baby ticks. Permethrine is said
to be harmless to humans and other mammals, but still, be careful with it.

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bluntfang
>Permethrine is said to be harmless to humans and other mammals, but still, be
careful with it.

Except for cats. If you have cats, be careful using this substance.

~~~
dashundchen
Some dogs as well. Permethrin based flea prevention caused my healthy dog to
become lethargic, labored breathing and over salivation. I washed it off, and
he recovered in a few hours, but I've avoided giving him flea control since
then. Luckily he has avoided ticks and fleas but I would bring him to the vet
if he did pick any up.

[https://m.petmd.com/dog/conditions/neurological/c_multi_pyre...](https://m.petmd.com/dog/conditions/neurological/c_multi_pyrethrin_pyrethroid_toxicity)

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koolba
> In California, adult ticks carry Lyme bacteria less often than nymphs
> because of a biological quirk in the region. Ticks that carry Lyme bacteria
> and feed on the western fence lizard lose their infection in the process.
> The lizard's blood actually clears the infection, said Andrea Swei, who
> studies ticks and disease transmission at San Francisco State University.

That’s a new one for me. Any idea why the lizard blood cleans out the ticks?

~~~
stagbeetle
Their immune systems are pretty great at killing viruses and bacteria.
Alligator serum is tough against: HIV, West Nile, and Herpes.

A long, but good read, on lizard immune systems can be found here[0].

[0][http://jeb.biologists.org/content/213/5/661](http://jeb.biologists.org/content/213/5/661)

~~~
ams6110
Yet weirdly the Komodo Dragon lizard has so much bacteria in its mouth that is
how it kills its prey. It just bites, and then waits around for the prey to
die of infection.

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jojopotato
I was under the impression this wasn’t really believed anymore. The only
discussion I can find for it is here though:

[http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/27/the-
myth-...](http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2013/06/27/the-myth-of-the-
komodo-dragons-dirty-mouth/)

~~~
ams6110
Wow interesting that's the first I had heard that the bacteria theory was
discredited.

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EGreg
You see? You thought this was a cool FACT but turns out it's just a theory. Be
careful about theories people have in biology or zoology.

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robin_reala
I’ve usually removed ticks from pets with a tick hook[1]: slide it under the
tick then spin it and they come straight off. Makes sense when looking at the
mouthparts here, but slightly odd that the article doesn’t mention it.
Gripping the tick and pulling up risks squeezing infected blood back into the
body.

[1] [https://www.otom.com/en/](https://www.otom.com/en/)

~~~
yAnonymous
>Gripping the tick and pulling up risks squeezing infected blood back into the
body

Not if you grip at the bottom.

>slide it under the tick then spin it

Spinning is exactly what can cause the fangs to detach and stay under the
skin.

[https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html](https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html)

~~~
EGreg
It does say "don't twist or jerk the tick"

What does "groip at the bottom" mean?

I think this device can be used to remove the tick without rotating.

Which of you is right?

~~~
yAnonymous
>What does "groip at the bottom" mean?

Exactly what the example images show. Move the tweezers as close to the skin
as possible, then grab and pull the tick out with steady force.

>Which of you is right?

Most fragile objects break much easier when you twist them, because the
twisting causes micro fractures by itself. I don't see why it would be
different for the head of a tick.

German and Austrian authorities and independent sources give the same advice
[1][2] as the CDC.

So it's pretty much common sense and the advice of several researchers against
the advice of someone who wants to sell a product.

[1] [https://www.zecken.de/de/zecken-
entfernen](https://www.zecken.de/de/zecken-entfernen)

[2]
[https://www.gesundheit.gv.at/krankheiten/immunsystem/zecken-...](https://www.gesundheit.gv.at/krankheiten/immunsystem/zecken-
krankheiten/zecken-entfernen)

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themodelplumber
I was doing some trail assessment work a few summers ago and while walking
under tree cover heard a tiny something land on my hat, right above the back
of my neck. I took my hat off and there was a tick. So apparently a full-brim
hat is also a good idea.

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blonky
My dad, an avid hunter/outdoorsman, has told me for years ticks drop from
trees.

He's also told stories of ticks on deer the size of golfballs. This is why I
stay indoors! [shudder]

~~~
craftyguy
More often than not ticks are hanging out on long grass waiting for you to
brush up against it.

I believe it's a common (and unproven) myth[1] that 'falling from trees' is
the primary way that ticks seek out targets...

1\.
[http://medent.usyd.edu.au/fact/ticks.htm](http://medent.usyd.edu.au/fact/ticks.htm)

