Usenet 1993 July/InfoMagic USENET CD-ROM July 1993.ISO/answers/fleas-ticks

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From: [e-mail] (Cindy Tittle Moore)
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Subject: Fleas, Ticks, and Your Pet: FAQ
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Summary: This is a FAQ on ridding your pet and home of fleas and
         dealing with ticks.  It is posted every fifteen days.
         Additions and corrections are always welcome, send email to
         one of the addresses below.
X-Last-Updated: 1993/04/30
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Archive-name: fleas-ticks
Version: 1.9
Last-modified: 14 February 1993
Periodicity: 15 days

Copies and updates of this FAQ may be obtained by anonymous ftp to
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/pub/usenet/news.answers/fleas-ticks.
Or send email to [e-mail] with
send usenet/news.answers/fleas-ticks
in the body of the message, leaving the subject line empty.

All editing is mine, and any errors should be attributed to me.  I
welcome all additions, corrections, and suggestions for this file.
Please send email to me at any of the addresses at the end of this
article.

Thanks to: Shari Bernhard, Brad Christofferson, James Coggins, William
S. Currie, Bill Dittman, Gene Dolgner, Marc Gabriel, P.K. Geschwent,
Jim Graham, Gary Greene, Paul Jackson, Kathy Johnson, Marget Johnson,
Renee Johnson, Kay Klier, Jon Krueger, Kerry Kurasaki, Dana Massey,
Liza Lee Miller, Jolly C.  Pancakes, Jeff Parke, Sonya Perkins, Edward
Reid, Skywarrior, Susan R. Smart, Marlene Teague, Julia Tien, Laura
Toms, Lesa Hobright Turner, Michael Waldvogel, Janeane L. Yeh and
Frank Yeh Jr., and Rich Young for their comments and suggestions.

A good deal of the information on fleas came from a posting by Dave
Butler which I saw and saved in mid 1992.  Dr. James Coggins did a
presentation on ticks in Wisconsin from which I got much of the
material on ticks and Lyme disease.

Finally, I'd like to thank my own dog for providing me with hands on
experience with ticks.  :-)

Changes marked with |'s.


Table of Contents

I.  Fleas
    1.  In general
        a) How do they enter the house?
        b) Why should I worry about fleas?
        c) How can I tell if my pet has fleas?
        d) Preventive measures
        e) How to choose your methods
        f) Lifecycle
        g) Keeping clean
    2.  Natural methods
    3.  Spraying inside
    4.  Treating outdoors areas
    5.  Dipping your pet
    6.  Combing your pet
    7.  Powders
    8.  Borax and salt
    9.  Vacuum
    10. Flea collars
    11. Newborn animals
    12. Toxicities
    13. Systemic products
    14. Homes with pregnant women or crawling infants
    15. Preventing flea infestations in your next home
    16. Conclusion

II. Ticks
    1.  In general
        a) Role in diseases
        b) Kinds of ticks
    2.  Lifecycle
    3.  Removing a tick
    4.  Infections or abscesses
    5.  Disposing of ticks
    6.  Where you pick up ticks
    7.  Combatting ticks
    8.  Lyme disease
        a) Transmission
        b) Symptoms
        c) Vaccination

References and Addresses

---------------

I.  Fleas

1.  In general

a) How do they enter the house?

Fleas can enter the home in many ways, even if your pet is not or only
rarely allowed outside.  They can hop in from your yard, hitch a ride
on you, or even be left over from previous inhabitants (larvae can
remain dormant for astonishingly long periods of time under a variety
of conditions).

b) Why should I worry about fleas?

Since fleas can be carriers for worms and diseases, keeping your pet
flea-free helps to keep it healthy.  In addition, many pets and people
are allergic to flea-bites.

c) How can I tell if my pet has fleas?

To check if your pet has fleas, part its hair and look for:

  * Small bits of brown "dust," attached to the fur itself.  The fleas
    excrete digested blood.  See if the dust dissolves into a red
    liquid upon contact with a wet paper towel.

  * Skin Irritation: flea bites or scratching and biting may leave
    red, irritated skin, and even bald patches in bad cases.

  * Small, fast moving brown shapes are fleas.

  * Or, use a flea comb and see what you get.

You may also see "flea dust," fleas, or even larvae on your pet's
bedding.

Dried blood in its ears may indicate ear mites and you should consult
your vet to find out what the problem is.

d) Preventive measures

Adult fleas spend only part of their time on your pet: they usually
leave to lay their eggs elsewhere.  Remember that households with no
pets can still be infested with fleas.  Favorite places to lay eggs
are outdoors, dustbunnies, rugs, bedding, etc.  Eggs laid on your pet
will fall off as it moves around.  A good preventive method is to put
down towels everywhere your pet normally lies and then wash those
towels once a week.  Deposited flea eggs are therefore cleaned out
regularly.  Regular vacuuming and emptying of the vacuum bag also
helps, independently of any method or methods you choose to do, since
that eliminates or reduces food sources for the larvae.

e) How to choose your methods

There are several ways to kill or discourage fleas. Some are synthetic
chemicals, some are considered "natural", and both work with varying
degrees.  No one method is 100% effective, and you will almost always
have to combine several approaches to get the results you want.  Some
methods are applicable for indoor pets, but useless for indoor/outdoor
pets.  You need to choose the set of approaches that best addresses
your situation.

Keep in mind that there are regional differences among fleas: what
works well in one area may not work well in other areas.  You should
consult a LOCAL vet-tech or dog-groomer to see what is known to be
effective in your area.  Don't rely on the products available at your
local store; there are too many that are just distributed nationally.

f) Lifecycle

You must keep in mind the life cycle of the flea.  From egg to larvae
to adult is between three to six weeks: to get rid of fleas in your
house, you must break this cycle.  As a practical matter, this means
you will almost certainly have to repeat your efforts in several weeks
to catch the fleas from the larvae that didn't get destroyed the first
time around.  This is also why it is important to address the problem
of the eggs and larvae as well as the adult fleas.

After taking a blood meal, fleas either lay eggs on your pet or in its
surrounding environment.  Eggs on your pet are often shed onto its
bedding or into the carpet.  A pair of fleas may produce 20,000 fleas
in 3 months.  Eggs hatch after 2-12 days into larvae that feed in the
environment -- generally on digested blood from adult fleas and other
food matter in their environment.  The food required at this stage is
microscopic, and even clean carpets often offer plenty of food to the
larvae.  The larvae are little wiggles about 3-4 millimeters long, you
may see some if you inspect your pet's bedding carefully.  Larvae molt
twice within 2-200 days and the older larvae spin a cocoon in which
they remain for one week to one year.  When in this cocoon stage the
young flea is invulnerable to any kind of insecticide and to low, even
freezing, temperatures.  Only sufficient warmth and the presence of a
host can cause them to emerge.  This long cocooning period explains
why fleas are so difficult to eradicate.

g) Keeping clean

Having your carpets professionally cleaned WILL NOT get rid of the
fleas, unless they use something that is meant to kill fleas.
However, it will remove much of the eggs, larvae and the food that the
larvae feeds on, so it can be useful in conjunction with other
methods.

Remember that carpets, rugs, and upholstered furniture are the prime
places for depositing flea eggs.  Some people have success ridding
their home of fleas by removing their carpets and replacing with
linoleum or hardwood floors.  This may not be a feasible option for
everyone, though.

2.  Natural methods

These tend to be of the "folk-remedy" type.  Some people swear by
them, others do not get any results.  Some are actually toxic.  They
tend to work better at keeping fleas _away_ rather than killing or
eliminating present infestations.

  * You can buy cedar shampoo, cedar oil and cedar-filled sleeping mats.
    Cedar repells many insects including fleas.

  * Let outdoor pets sleep on a well-used horse blanket.  This is
    probably folklore: lots of "barn animals" have fleas anyway.

  * Fleas love dry skin: prevent dry skin by giving your pet Linatone
    (or any vegetable oil) with its food and avoiding excessive
    shampooing.

  * Pennyroyal (the herb and the oil) is often touted as a natural
    flea repellent: only the fresh or dried leafs are safe.  The oil
    is actually highly toxic to animals and humans (it has a long
    history as an abortifacent, for example). There is an article
    about this in the AKC's _Gazette_, July 1992.  Also, _Journal of
    the AVMA_, v200 n6 March 15, 1992.

  * Garlic and Brewer's Yeast: Feed it in small doses to your pet and
    and the resultant body odor may repel fleas.  You can get it either
    in powder form or tablet form, at varying expense.

  * Orange or lemon peel boiled and simmered in water makes a flea dip
    after it cools.  Do not use this on cats, however (don't know
    about ferrets).  Rinse well.

  * 60 ml of lavendar oil mixed with 2.8 liters of rock salt can be
    placed under furniture and rugs.

| * Eucalyptus leaves can be left under furniture and rugs.  Also, a
|    eucalyptus wool wash [a product for washing wool made from
|    eucalyptus, available in Australia, perhaps elsewhere too] when
|    washing the dog may help.

|  * Rub bruised fennel foliage into the dog's coat.  Growing it in
|    the yard discourages the establishment of fleas there.

  * You can plant marigolds outside in your garden.  This has the
    additional benefit of repelling a variety of other bugs.

  * NuPo offers a "flea trap" that uses heat to attract fleas to a
    sticky pad, kind of like "flea paper."  Homemade variants,
    considerably less expensive, include leaving out detergent-laced
    dishes or jars of water near nightlights at night. This approach
    works best in severe infestations but is not likely to eliminate
    the fleas.

  * Often useful in conjunction with other methods is to cover up your
    pet's ears and around the neck with a wet towel and have it lie in
    a tub of cool water for a while.  The towel prevents migration of
    the fleas to the head.  Add just a little detergent to the water
    (a teaspoon or a few cc's is enough) to make sure the fleas drown.
    Obviously, your pet must be amenable to lying in water for 15
    minutes or so.  This can be done as an alternative to dipping; but
    like dipping it will not solve the larger problem of the flea
    infestation.

3.  Spraying inside

You can spray your house.  There are a number of commercial foggers
and other devices which you set off in your home.  Generally, you and
anything live will have to vacate for a period of time.  This can be
effective; it depends on if the chemicals involved will kill fleas,
flea larvae, or both.  Your vet will be a good source of information
on effective brands, or you can have this done professionally.

Remember that a hand-held sprayer will be more effective than a
fogger-type application simply because you can make sure all the
hard-to-reach areas are properly treated.

In general, pyrethrins are "low intensity", relatively safe, and break
down quickly (some on contact with sunlight). They can normally be
used safely with puppies, kittens and in sensitive conditions.
Pyrethrins are from chyrsanthemums, and manage to be highly toxic to
fleas but not to people or dogs.  It's very safe.  Permethrins are
synthetic pyrethrins and have the additional benefit of a residual
effect for several days.

Organo-phosphates are "heavy duty" and last longer. They should be
used with caution as they are usually toxic to people and animals.

Precor: (methoprene) This is an insect hormone that interrupts the
  life cycle of fleas by preventing flea larvae from maturing.  It is
  not a poison, even to fleas, but they cannot reproduce.  It's used
  as an environmental spray either by itself (in which case it will
  take several weeks to show much effect) or combined with adult
  pesticides (like pyrethrins) for a quick wipeout.  Because it is a
  hormone, fleas will not become resistant to its effects (it would be
  like humans becoming resistant to estrogen and testosterone).  You
  can buy the stuff at your local hardware/gardening store, and spray
  the diluted (according to directions) liquid everywhere in the
  house.  This will not kill fleas by itself unless you combine it
  with something immediately lethal, but it will break the lifecycle
  and the fleas will go away in a few weeks as the mature ones die and
  the immature ones fail to develop.  Such an application lasts about
  4-5 months.  Precor cannot be used outside because it breaks down
  rapidly in sunlight, but there are new formulations, such as
  Fenoxycarb, that show promise for outdoor use.

  Precor can be difficult to find.  Check with your vet and check
  various pet stores and hardware stores.  One mail-order source is
  Gardens Alive!  It's called Vigren and is $9.25 per oz concentrate
  (mix with 1 gallon of water, covers 1500 sq. ft) or $7.95 for three
  or more.  Address below.

Sectrol: this is microencapsulated pyrethrins (low toxicity to
  mammals).  This works well in conjunction with methoprene.  Spraying
  your home with this combination should be good for about 5-6 months
  before reapplication is needed.

Duratrol: this comes in both a spray (for the house) and a dip for the
  immediate problem on your pet.  The smell is reported to be minimal
  and the effectiveness high.  You only need to leave the house for
  1/2 hour to allow the spray to dry (rather than up to four hours for
  other sprays and foggers, for example).  Duratrol consists of micro-
  encapsulated chlorpyrifos -- essentially Dursban in "tiny time pills."

Foggers: When choosing a fogger, note that the directions call for one
  can per X no. of UNOBSTRUCTED square feet.  In practice, that means
  one can per major room.  You can increase the effectiveness of the
  spread of the fogger by setting up fans to move the air around
  before you trigger the foggers.  If you have a forced-air furnace,
  turning the thermostat switch to "on" or "fan" instead of "auto"
  will help circulate the pesticide throughout the house.  Foggers
  have a real problem in penetrating enough to do any good, though.
  They just don't reach under furniture and other inaccessible places.

4.  Treating outdoors areas

When treating the area surrounding your house, remember that fleas are
not found in your driveway gravel or in the open.  The larvae do not
survive high temperatures.  They are found in shaded areas, like under
porches, decks, car ports, at the edges of woods, and especially in
places where your pets lay down outdoors.

Dursban: You can use Dursban for ridding the yard of fleas.  Home
  Depot will have the generic stuff.  Spray according to the
  directions on the label.  This is fairly toxic stuff.  The generic
  name is Chlorpyrifos.

For those with outdoor pets, diatomaceous earth, boric acid and silica
aerogels can be used to treat your lawn for fleas and ticks.  These
chemicals were lauded by the Apr 92 _Sunset_ magazine in their list of
least toxic chemicals, sprays and dusts, which were discussed for
those people who want to control pests more naturally.  These are not
poisons, and kill by clinging to, scratching and and destroying the
waxy exteriors, or dessicating the pests.  _Sunset_ does point out
that these chemicals should not be inhaled as they will irritate or
abrade the lungs in the same way (which isn't a big problem once
they've settled into your lawn).  Diatomaceous earth is an abrading
agent (much like borax).  Use natural grade rather than pool grade
diatomacious earth.  Boric acid is also a abrading agent.  Silica
aerogels are dessicants, and kill the insects through dehydration.
It is recommended that these chemicals be used in powder form to kill
fleas and ticks.

5.  Dipping your pet

For an immediate flea problem, you can bath your pet with a
flea-killing substance to get rid of the fleas on its body.  But
remember, such "dips" usually sting when applied to open irritations.
Animals have been known to bite, climb up your arm, and even urinate
all over themselves, so be prepared!

Be very careful to only dip animals that are at least two, preferably
three months old, and be especially careful to use appropriate dips.
That is, do not use dips marked for dogs on cats!

Avon's Skin-So-Soft lotion is reputed to repel fleas (as well as
mosquitos on human).  After bathing your dog, put some lotion in the
rinse water.  They will smell like the lotion, and the application
will last for a few weeks.  This may be a problem for pets that groom
themselves.  Another way to apply it is to put a 1:1 lotion:water mix
in a spritz bottle and mist your dog with it.  Some people report
excellent results and others do not.

**Dipping alone will NOT solve the more general problem of the flea
infestation.**

6.  Combing your pet

Flea combs with fine teeth that snag fleas are commercially available.
It is helpful to have a small dish of ammonia-laced water on hand to
kill the fleas on the comb rather than trying to nail each one by
hand.  Alternatively, mix a few drops of detergent into the dish of
water so that there is no surface tension and fleas dropped into the
treated water will drown.  Use a metal comb; the plastic ones are too
flexible and allow the fleas to escape.

You will typically find the most fleas along your pet's back, groin
area, and at the base of the tail.

This by itself will never rid your pet from fleas since flea larvae
are also in bedding, furniture and carpet.  It is, however, a useful
way to keep an eye on the flea population.  You can estimate another
1000-5000 fleas are in your house for every flea you find on your pet.

7.  Powders

Flea powders are handy, but there are many types and some are rather
poisonous.  Check the poisonous list below for ingredients that cause
serious problems (for cats).  When using powders, it is not enough to
just powder your pet: powder its bedding, under furniture cushions,
and in the vacuum cleaner bag.

Do not let your pet ingest flea powder of any sort.  This can be
tricky with pets that groom themselves, such as cats and ferrets.

8.  Borax and salt

Also known as sodium polyborate, sodium tetraborate, sodium borate.
The chemical is related to boric acid.  This is present in a variety
of household products.  Sprinkling 20 Mule Team Borax, the kind you
use in laundry (*not* the hand soap Boraxo; the soap added to can be
toxic to your pet) on the carpet and upholstery will dry out the
deposited flea larvae.  The procedure is to vacuum the house, sprinkle
borax or salt using a sieve on carpet and upholstery (and under the
pillows, under the furniture); sweep with a broom to settle the borax
into the carpet and then vacuum again.  Some people leave it on for a
few days before vacuuming, but this runs the risk of abrading the
surface of the carpet.  Don't let your animals eat the stuff.  If you
use borax, you may need to adjust for this when cleaning your carpets
by using less soap.  The effects of a borax treatment seem to last
about a year or so.

Drawbacks: The chemical borax is abrasive, and 20 Mule Team Borax may
abrade your carpets.  In addition, there are documented cases of
long-term low-level exposure to sodium polyborate resulting in
conjunctivitus, weight loss, vomiting, mild diarrhea, skin rash,
convulsions and anemia and other similar allergic reactions in humans.
If you're using borax as flea control, and your pets (or family) are
showing loss of appetite, eye or skin problems, anemia or kidney
problems, you may want to switch to another flea control method and
see if their health improves.  Do not apply it to damp carpets as it
can take the color out.

Borax is NOT advisable where you have pets which groom themselves,
e.g., cats and ferrets.  They can ingest enough to harm them if the
borax is not settled deeply enough into the carpet (October 1992 of
_Dog Fancy_).  Symptoms of acute poisoning include diarrhea, rapid
prostration and perhaps convulsions [these occurred when borax was
scattered openly for cockroach control].

There are various products that are applied in the same way, such as
PEST-X.  Check these types of products to see if they contain borax or
boric acid.  If so, the above commentary applies to those products as
well.  Otherwise, check the ingredients against the other ingredients
discussed elsewhere.

Some people use salt instead of borax.  Provided that you do not live
in high humidity areas, this is an alternative.  Since salt absorbs
water, salt in carpet in an unairconditioned house in Florida (for
example) would mean a damp carpet -- later rotted or mildewed.

9.  Vacuum

Put flea powder in the vacuum cleaner bag to kill any fleas that you
vacuum up, otherwise they will crawl back out.  You should change the
bag in your vacuum cleaner after a round of flea-cleaning in any case.
Moth balls can also be used, but they are pretty toxic.  Sometimes
people put (cut up) flea collars in the bag, but it is not clear that
this is effective, and if the collar contains dichlorvos, is NOT
recommended.

10. Flea collars

See Consumer Reports, August 1991.  Flea collars aren't effective
and may even be bad for your pet's health.  Some of the herbal ones
smell nice and that's about it.

Ultrasonic and electronic flea collars are not known to work.

11. Newborn animals

Very young animals can die from overinfestation of fleas.  They are
small enough that they can become dangerously anemic within hours, and
are young enough that they will be poisoned by dipping chemicals.
Consult your vet immediately if you have a less than 8-10 week old
kitten or puppy with a bad case of the fleas.  **Do not attempt to
"dip" them, you can easily kill them this way.**

Consider that one flea consumes 1/10 cc of blood in 24 hours.  For
every flea you see on your animal there are, conservatively, 10 more.
So, if you can see 10 fleas on your animal, that translates to 100
fleas.  Multiplied by .1 cc/24 hours = 10 cc / 24 hrs.  In other
words, if you can find 10 fleas on your animal, it is probably losing
somewhere in the neighborhood (probably more) of 10 cc's of blood a
day to fleas.

Symptoms of anemia: if flea-infested baby animals become lethargic,
weak, and pale, you may have *only hours* before they die.  A good
test for anemia is to take your finger, lift the upper lip, and press
gently but firmly into the upper gum. The gum will turn white for a
moment and then return almost immediately to a pink color. If the gum
stays white for more than a couple of seconds, anemia is indicated.
Take them to the vet *now*.

If they do not yet appear anemic, use a flea comb on them.  You should
take steps to prevent infestation by keeping the mother clear of
fleas, and regularly (at least every other day) changing and
laundering the bedding.  While you should not dip them in chemicals,
giving them a plain soap-and-water bath can help remove the fleas from
their body: wash the bedding at the same time and then use the flea
comb regularly to keep fleas from taking hold again.  The mildly
insecticidal shampoo Mycodex (tm) can be used on kittens, but requires
flea combing afterwards anyway because of its mildness.

12. Toxicities

According to Steven A. Melman and Karen L. Campbell's "Flea Control"
(John R. August, ed.  1991.  Consultations in feline internal
medicine.  WB Saunders & Co., Philadelphia.  ISBN 0-7216-2226-7:
Chapter 9), pesticides that have caused serious or fatal illness in
cats when used at dosages effective against fleas are:

  Carbaryl (Sevin)
  Chlorpyrifos (Dursban)
  Dichlorvos (DDVP, Vapona)
  Dioxathion (Delnav, Deltic)
  Lindane
  Malathion
  Naled (DiBrom)
  Phosmet (=prolate, Kemolate)
  Permethrin
  Propxur (Sendran, Baygon)
  Pyrethrins (but microencapsulated pyrethrins have no listed problems)
  Ronnel (=Korlan)
  Tetrachlorvinphos (=Rabon)

The following flea-cides used ON dogs are NOT approved for use ON cats
(though they're all OK'd for indoor environmental use):

  Amitraz (Mitaban)
  Bendiocarb (Ficam)
  Chlorphenvinphos (Supona)
  Chlorpyrifos (Dursban)
  Cythioate (proban)
  Diazanon (Spectracide)
  Fenoxycarb
  Fenthion (Prospot)
  Methoprene (Precor)

The following have been reported to cause serious illness or death
when used ON dogs:

  Carbaryl (Sevin)
  Chlorpyrifos (Dursban)
  Dichlorvos (DDVP, Vapona)
  Fenthion (Prospot)
  Lindane
  Malathion
  Phosmet (Prolate, Kemolate)
  Permethrin
  Pyrethrins (but not microencapsulated)
  Ronnel (Korlan)
  Tetrachlorvinphos (Rabon)

13. Systemic products

Proban (cythioate) and Prospot (Fenthion) are not licensed for use in
cats in the U.S.  They may be used on dogs.  They work on the
principle that if you poison the bloodstream, the fleas will die after
ingesting the poisoned blood.  Several problems: first, you *are*
introducing a low level of poison into your pet's bloodstream, and the
long-term effects are unknown.  Second, this does not help at all the
pet that is allergic to fleas and cannot afford to be bitten in the
first place.

14. Homes with pregnant women/crawling infants/baby animals

Specific recommendations from "Flea Control" for houses with pregnant
women or crawling infants are for a combination of microencapsulated
pyrethrins (Sectrol from 3M) and methoprene.

15. Preventing flea infestations in your next home

Since flea larvae can lay dormant for surprisingly long periods of
time, it is always possible for you and your pets to get fleas by
moving into a house or apartment in which the previous occupants had
fleas.

If this may be the case, you can prevent the potential problem by
spraying or treating the place *before* you move in, if at all
possible.  For example, if the place has been uninhabited long enough
that all the adult fleas are dead, methoprene should be sufficient,
otherwise use sprays that will also work on the adults.

16. Conclusion

In general, you will have to use a combination of some of the
approaches above.  You will also want to launder any bedding and other
launderable items to rid them of fleas at the same time.  If you comb
your pet regularly, you will be able to spot an incipient increase of
fleas and make pre-emptive strikes.  If you have a bad flea problem,
getting your carpet professionally cleaned in addition to other
control methods will help in removing potential food sources for the
larvae.


II.  Ticks

1.  In general

Ticks are in the phylum of animals called Arthropoda (jointed
appendage).  This phylum of animals is the largest in the animal
kingdom. There are over 850 different species of ticks, and they
parasitize every class of terrestrial vertebrate animal, including
amphibians.

Ticks are small rounded arachnids that cling to one spot and do not
move.  They have inserted their head under the skin and are engorging
themselves on the blood.  Diseases carried by ticks means that you
should have yourself or your pets checked after you find ticks.  On
the one hand, ticks are a little easier to deal with since they remain
outdoors, and do not infest houses the way fleas do; on the other
hand, they carry more dangerous diseases and are harder to find.

a) Role in diseases

Ticks are the most important arthropod in transmitting diseases to
domestic animals and run a close second to mosquitoes in arthropod
borne human diseases.  They transmit a greater variety of infectious
agents than any other type of arthropod.  Ticks can cause disease and
illness directly.  They are responsible for anemia due to blood loss,
dermatosis due to salivary secretions, and ascending tick paralysis
due to neurotoxins in the salivary secretions. They also can be the
vector of other diseases.  Some of the more noted tick borne diseases
are babesiosis, anaplasmosis, East Coast fever, relapsing fever, rocky
mountain spotted fever and, of course, Lyme disease.

b) Kinds of ticks

There are two basic types of ticks.  Soft ticks, the argasids, are
distinguished by their soft, leathery cuticle and lack of scutum.
They can be recognized easily by their subterminal mouthparts that are
on the underside of the tick.  Soft ticks when engorged with blood
blow up like a balloon.  Soft ticks are fast feeders, being able to
tank up in a matter of hours.

Hard ticks, the Ixodids, have a hard plate on the dorsal surface and
have terminal mouthparts.  When attaching, a tick will slice open the
skin with the mouthparts and then attach itself.  They also secrete a
cement that hardens and holds the tick onto the host.  Hard ticks are
slow feeders, taking several days to finish their bloodmeal.

During feeding a tick may extract up to 8 ml of blood, they can take
100X their body weight in blood.  Interestingly, they concentrate the
blood during feeding and will return much of the water to the host
while losing some by transpiration through the cuticle.

2.  Lifecycle

All ticks have four life cycle stages.  Adult ticks, shown here
mating, produce eggs.  A female tick can produce up to 20,000 eggs.
Mating usually occurs on a host, after which the female must have a
blood meal in order for the eggs to develop.  Ixodid ticks are unusual
in that mating does not occur on the host.  The eggs are laid in the
soil or leaf litter after the female drops off the host.  These eggs
hatch into a stage known as the larva.  The larva is the smallest
stage and can be recognized by having only 3 pairs of legs.  These
"seed ticks" are produced in great numbers.  They must find a host and
take a blood meal in order to molt to the next stage called the nymph.
If the nymph can feed on a host, it will develop into the adult tick.

Ticks vary greatly in how long this cycle takes and the number of
hosts involved.  Some ticks are one host ticks; the entire cycle
occurs on that one host.  Others use two hosts, some three and some of
the soft ticks are multi-host ticks.

Ticks require high humidity and moderate temperature.  Juvenile ticks
usually live in the soil or at ground level.  They will then climb up
onto a blade of grass or the leaf of a plant to await a potential
host.  They will sense the presence of a host and begin the questing
behavior, standing up and waving their front legs.  They are able to
sense a vibration, a shadow, a change in CO2 level, or temperature
change.  When unsuccessful in their "quest" they become dehydrated and
will climb back down the plant to the ground to become rehydrated.
Then back up the plant, etc., until they are successful or they die.
Some ticks have been known to live for over 20 years and they can live
for a very long time without food.  Their favored habitat is old
field-forest ecotone.  One way to cut down the number of ticks in an
area is to keep the area mowed.

3.  Removing a tick

When you find a tick, use tweezers to pick up the body and pull
s-l-o-w-l-y and gently, and the mouthparts will release.  You should
see a small crator in your dog's skin, if you see what looks like
black lines, you've left the head of the tick in.  At this point, if
your dog is mellow enough, you should try and pick it out.  Otherwise,
you may need to take your pet into the vet, as the head parts will
lead to an infection.  Ticks carry a lot of rickettsial diseases,
including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, so you should
wash your hands thoroughly with soap after handling a tick.

Some people will use mineral oil, vegetable oil, or petroleum jelly
first to suffocate the tick before extraction.  Some say this reduces
the chances the mouthparts will be left behind, others say this has
similar problems as matches or cigarrettes.

Some veterinarians will put on gloves, smear one finger with a bit
of mineral oil and massage the protruding part of the tick for a
minute or so.  The tick will back out.

Definitely DO NOT touch the tick with the head of a hot match or
cigarette since this can cause the tick to regurgitate into your
bloodstream, increasing the chances that you may catch a disease the
tick carries.  Besides that, you may burn and injure the person or
animal with the tick!

Lyme disease (see below) is usually carried by tiny deer ticks (two
other kinds of ticks have also been identified as carriers) , which
are the size of the head of a pin.  You must look yourself or your pet
over very carefully to find these kind of ticks.  Other ticks can be
as large as peppercorns.

4.  Infections or abscesses

If you have left the head of the tick in your pet's skin, chances are
there will be an infection or an abscess in a week or so.  Try
disinfecting the area thoroughly with 70% alcohol (it takes about 5
minutes for alcohol to sterilize an area).  Ethyl alcohol is less
toxic than rubbing alcohol; vodka or any high-proof liquor will work.
Betadine or iodine is recommended.  Then apply a combination
antibiotic ointment.  If an infection occurs anyway, take your pet in
to the vet to have it drained.

5.  Disposing of ticks

To dispose of the tick, drop it into alcohol to kill it, then dispose
of it.  Flushing them down the toilet WILL NOT KILL THEM.  Squishing
them with a thumbnail is not recommended, and is not easy anyway.  You
might save the tick in a jar of alcohol for identification, to help
decide whether possible infection has occurred.

6.  Where you pick up ticks

Adult ticks can remain on deer and other mammals through the fall
and winter.  If you spend a lot of time outdoors during this period,
be sure to check yourself, your family and your pets daily for ticks.
If you hunt or trap, check areas where you cache your game for ticks
that may have fallen off during handling.

A helpful practice is to wear long pants tucked into white socks; this
way they crawl up the *outside* of your pants and you can spot them in
the field.  Also wear a hat: they can drop from trees onto your head.

Ticks like long grass on the edges of woods (especially deer ticks)
They crawl up onto the grass blades and cling to you as you walk past.

|If you comb your pet with a wide tooth flea comb right after taking
|a walk, chances are you will find unattached ticks crawling around.
|Ticks don't attach themselves right away: they look around for good
|real estate.  It's much easier to remove ticks before they attach.

7.  Combatting ticks

If you have heavy infestations of ticks in your area, spraying your
backyard against ticks may be a good idea, especially if your pet is
indoor/outdoors.

One way to combat ticks is to raise Guinea hens, which eat ticks.
Trivia: Actress Christie Brinkley got Lyme disease from a tick on her
own property, and she now raises Guinea hens.

There is a product, called Tiguvon (chemical composition) that is a
systemic, administered monthly.  Its drawbacks seem to be that it is
expensive and that the tick needs to fully engorge itself to be
poisoned by the systemic.

|Ticks don't typically infest houses, unless you have a pet that had an
|overlooked tick that dropped off and hatched its eggs.  You will have
|to spray your house in this case as ticks hatch an unbelievable number
|of eggs.  Your local hardware store can give you tips on what is best
|to spray with.  You are not too likely to find "natural" or low-toxic
|sprays for ticks.

8.  Lyme disease

Lyme disease is a complex illness that affects wild and domestic
animals, including dogs, as well as humans.  It is caused by a
corkscrew-shaped bacterium called borrelia burgdoferi.

First noted in 1977, the disease has rapidly spread throughout the
contintental US and Canada.  Studies have shown that migrating birds
have helped disperse infected ticks to new areas.  Hunting dogs, or
any dog that runs in tick-infested fields, can bring the problem home
with them.  And so do people who move from place to place with
infected pets.  It is expected that Lyme disease will soon be a
problem in all 48 contiguous US states.

You should note that Lyme disease is fairly easily treatable with
antibiotics.  Problems occur when it is left untreated.  Lyme disease
appears to affect humans a bit differently and is more complex to
treat.

a) Transmission

When a tick bites, the bacterium is transferred into the blood of the
host.  The deer tick (Ixodes dammini) is found in the Northeast and
upper Midwest; the black-legged tick (I. scapularis) is found in the
Midwest and Southeast; and the Western black-legged tick (I.
pacificus) is found mainly in the coastal areas of California, Oregon,
and Washington.  Hosts include deer, migratory birds, rabbits, mice,
raccoons and skunks ... plus dogs, cats, cattle, horses and humans.

Besides tick bites, Lyme disease may be spread by contact with
infected body fluids.  Studies indicate that transmission may occur in
this manner from dog to dog, and possibly from cow to cow and horse to
horse.  Transmission from animal to human *may* be possible.  In utero
transmission has been observed.  Animals may be reinfected with Lyme
disease.

The major vector for the deer tick is the mouse; deer have relatively
little to do with it.  Deer simply act as a home for the overwintering
adults.  Removing deer from an area has little long term effect on the
tick population since the adults simply find another animal to act as
a winter host.

b) Symptoms

The symptoms of this illness have now been separated into three
stages.  If caught before the end of the first stage, the illness is
usually easily treated by antibiotics.

In general, a high fever combined with stiffness or arthritic symptoms
(in both people and animals) can indicate Lyme disease.

The next two stages represent greater systematic involvement and
include the nervous system and the heart.  If still untreated, the
third stage involves the musculoskeletal system.

The erythema migrans (small round rash at the site of the bite) is the
best early sign of a problem.  Unfortunately, the tick that bites is
usually a larva or nymph and so is seldom seen.  The resulting rash is
seen in approximately 80% of adults but only about 50% of children.
It is imperative that it be diagnosed early since the more severe
symptoms can begin quickly.

Treatment consists of several broad spectrum antibiotics -- including
tetracycline, penicillin, and erythromycin.  This is effective,
especially in the early stages.  Consult with your veterinarian or
doctor.

c) Vaccination

There is a vaccination against Lyme disease for dogs that is now
available.  It is Borrelia Burgdoferi Bacterin (Fort Dodge
Laboratories).  It is supposed to have a duration of immunity that
lasts through the tick season.  One for people is coming out now as
well.

An interesting discussion of what is happening in the veterinary
community with regard to Lyme disease is summarized in an easy-to-read
letter titled "Questions 'push' for vaccinations against Borrelia
burgdoreri infection," in the Journal of the American Veterinary
Association, 201(10), 11/15/92.

|There is now an electronic mail network dealing with Lyme disease.
|This is intended to help the individual keep up with the latest
|developments, including new treatment protocols, research news and
|political events.  To subscribe to LymeNet, send an email message to:
|[e-mail], and in the body of the message write
|subscribe lymenet-l Firstname Lastname
|The server will deduce your address and send you a response
|giving you the details of how to send and receive messages.  Problem
|reports only should be sent to [e-mail], the owner of the list.

----------------
References and Addresses

_Consumer Reports_, August 1991.
  Contains an article discussing flea collars: brands and effectiveness.

Klein, Hilary Dole and Adrian M. Wenner.  _Tiny Game Hunting_. Bantam,
1991.  ISBN 0-553-35331-4.
  A good reference on how to get rid of fleas.

Melman, Steven A. and Karen L. Campbell, "Flea Control" (Chapter 9 in
August's volume).

Gardens Alive!
Natural Garden Research Center
Hwy 48 - PO Box 149
Sunman, IN 47041
812/537-8650.

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This article is Copyright (c) 1992, 1993 by Cindy Tittle Moore.  It may be
freely distributed in its entirety provided that this copyright notice
is not removed.  It may not be sold for profit nor incorporated in
commercial documents without the author's written permission.  This
article is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Cindy Tittle Moore
Internet: [e-mail]       USmail: PO BOX 4188, Irvine CA 92716
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