Summary:
Tick-tock! It’s that time of year: spring is here and our countryside is getting ready for an explosion of colour and fresh new growth. The warmer weather and longer days will energise all creatures great and small into a frenzy of activity. One of these will be the tiny, inconspicuous tick, an arachnid that is becoming much more prevalent in our countryside. For animals - including us - tick bites can carry potentially debilitating diseases and so it is important that we know the best methods of preventing them.
Main image:
There are over 700 species of hard bodied tick (Ixodidae) known to science, but just a handful are found in the UK. The tick undergoes three life stages: larvae, nymph and adult, with the female laying over 3,000 eggs in the ground. I. ricinus use animal hosts as food sources, and as a free ride, as they are unable to jump or fly. Instead they use their hooked legs to catch upon anything moving through the vegetation.