Ticks are ectoparasites of vertebrates. They are small insects and their body is not distinctly separated into head, thorax and abdomen. They have four pairs of legs and no antennae. Their life cycle has four stages i.e. egg, larva, nymph and adult.
Ticks are found is warm climate and are nocturnal in habit. They either live on the body of the hosts like dogs, cats and cattle or in the cracks of the walls and floor and come out in the night for blood sucking.
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Both male and female bite and suck the blood. The female tick may remain attached to its host for a longer period but male usually drops off after a few days. Sometimes they attack man and transmit diseases. There are two types of ticks i.e. hard ticks and soft ticks.
Hard tick is so called because the dorsum of its body is covered by a hard shield called sputum. The soft tick does not have this hard dorsal shield and its head is situated ventrally which is not seen from above. This makes it easy to identify a soft tick from a hard tick.
Hard tick transmits tick typhus, viral encephalitis, hemorrhagic fever and soft tick transmits relapsing fever.
Control of Ticks:
(i) DDT, lindane or Malathion should be sprayed in the tick infested area.
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(ii) Animals like dogs, cats and cattle should be dusted with DDT or Malathion.
(iii) Cracks in the floor and walls should be filled up.
(iv) Workers handling the animals should protect themselves from ticks by wearing protective clothing’s and taking other precautions so that ticks do not attach to their bodies. If any tick is found on the body that must be removed immediately and killed.