What Are Ticks? | How to Identify, Prevent, and Kill Ticks

Ticks are often an unwelcome sight in outdoor environments. These tiny pests can cause health issues for both humans and animals, and understanding more about them can help you protect yourself and your pets. In this article, we'll answer common questions like: Are ticks arachnids? Can ticks fly or jump? What do ticks look like? Where do ticks come from? And, most importantly, how do you kill them?

 

What Are Ticks?

Ticks are small parasitic creatures that belong to the arachnid family, which means they are related to spiders and scorpions. Like their arachnid cousins, adult ticks have eight legs and no wings. Ticks are known for feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles or amphibians. They are most notorious for spreading diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tick-borne encephalitis.

Can Ticks Fly or Jump?

Despite how they can appear suddenly, ticks cannot fly or jump. They don’t have wings, so they rely on other methods to get to their host. Instead of leaping onto you or flying through the air, ticks typically wait in grass or bushes for a host to brush against them. They then grab onto fur, clothing, or skin.

What Do Ticks Look Like?

Ticks vary in size depending on their species and life stage. An adult tick is about the size of an apple seed, whereas younger ticks (known as nymphs) can be as small as a poppy seed. They have a flat, oval-shaped body, which expands as they feed. Ticks can be brown, black, reddish, or even pale depending on their age and whether they have recently fed.

Where Do Ticks Come From?

Ticks are found in many parts of the world but thrive in humid and wooded environments. You’ll often encounter ticks in areas with tall grasses, leaf piles, shrubs, and forests. They are especially prevalent in warmer months but can be active year-round in milder climates. Ticks are attracted to areas where wildlife thrives, as they often latch onto animals like deer, rodents, and birds before making their way to humans and pets.

How Do Ticks Find a Host?

Ticks use a process called “questing” to find a host. They climb to the top of grass or leaves, extend their front legs, and wait for a potential host to brush past them. Ticks have specialized sensory organs that detect carbon dioxide, body heat, and movement, which allows them to sense when a host is nearby.

Once they attach to a host, ticks bite into the skin and begin feeding on blood. Their saliva contains anesthetic properties, which often makes their bite painless and undetectable at first.

How Do You Kill Ticks?

Can Ticks Die in the Dryer?

Yes, ticks can die in the dryer. If you've been in a tick-prone area, placing your clothes in the dryer on high heat for at least 10 minutes will kill any ticks that may be hiding in the fabric. It’s important to do this before washing, as moisture can make ticks more resilient. Heat is one of the most effective ways to kill ticks.

Other Methods for Killing Ticks

• Pesticides: Applying tick-specific pesticides to your yard can help reduce tick populations.
• Tick Removal Tools: If you find a tick on yourself or your pet, use fine-tipped tweezers or a specialized tick removal tool to grab the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull it out gently but firmly.
• Oral Medications for Pets: If your pet spends time outdoors, using a vet-approved oral tick preventative can help keep ticks away. These medications work from the inside out, providing effective protection against ticks by killing them once they bite your pet.
• Professional Extermination: If you live in a tick-prone area, hiring a pest control expert can be a valuable step to reduce tick infestations.

Ticks may be tiny, but they can pose serious health risks. As arachnids, they rely on hosts for survival and can’t fly or jump, instead waiting for a host to brush past. By knowing where ticks come from, how they find a host, and effective ways to kill them (like using heat from a dryer), you can better protect yourself, your family, and your pets from the dangers these parasites bring.

Stay vigilant, especially during warmer months, and check for ticks using TiCK MiTT after spending time outdoors in grassy or wooded areas.