2015-03-03_PR Comm Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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■ initially does not carry diseases such as Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, or babesiois ■ may pick up diseases during its first meal from a diseased host • Larvae usually feed on white-footed mice or other small mammals. ■ If the mouse is infected with disease -causing organisms, the larva will become infected and be able to transmit these organisms during its second or third feeding • The tick may also feed on a small mammal or bird that is not infected. These ticks cannot transmit disease in later feedings. • After this feeding, the larvae molt into nymphs and become dormant until the following spring. Nymphal ticks • In the spring and summer of the tick's second year, primarily from May through early July, the nymph becomes active and takes its second feeding from a mammal. • If the tick is carrying disease agents from its first feeding in the larval stage, it can transmit them during this second feeding. • If the nymph was not already infected, it can become infected if the second meal host is carrying disease agents. • The nymph is about the size of a poppy seed. Nymph stage ticks often look like a speck of dirt or a freckle on a person's skin. Adult ticks • In the fall of the second year, nymphs molt into adult ticks. Female adults are red or orange and larger than males. • The adult female ticks feed and mate on large animals in the fall or early spring. The female lays her eggs, then dies. • If the ticks did not get a blood meal in the fall, they go dormant over winter and seek a meal in the spring. A frost does not kill blacklegged ticks. Adults may become active as soon as it is above freezing. They are occasionally spotted during a temporary thaw in the winter. • As female ticks feed over the course of several days, their bodies slowly enlarge with blood (engorge). Adult females infected with disease agents as larvae or nymphs may transmit disease during this feeding. • Male ticks attach, but do not feed or become engorged. Because the adult males do not take a blood meal, they do not transmit Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, or babesiosis: Feeding and blood meals • Blacklegged ticks feed on blood by inserting their mouth parts into the skin. • They are slow feeders and will feed for 3-5 days. • If the blacklegged tick is infected, it must be attached for 24-48 hours before it transmits Lyme disease, and at least 12-24 hours to transmit human anaplasmosis.