Ticks & Chiggers--a study

[Sue Gremlin]

I took the lint roller in again today and cranked that microscope all the way up. Another employee and I looked them over closely. They look exactly like a tick.They have six legs, antenna, and the mouth of a tick. He checked on his phone and it said they do have 6 legs early on. So I am assuming as they get bigger they grow two more???????????? It would be interesting to know what goes on there.

We have inspection equipment at work that will print out the view but I doubt those individuals will want to look at ticks. Not tick kind of people.

Tick larvae have six legs just to confuse people. And as far as I know, all tick species start out that way, even the soft ticks (argasid). They feed, drop off and molt into an 8 legged nymph. Their 4th pair of legs are in the larva under the shell (scutum). I actually have no idea why they evolved this way. Kind of a good question.

 

[Sue Gremlin]

I took the lint roller in again today and cranked that microscope all the way up. Another employee and I looked them over closely. They look exactly like a tick.They have six legs, antenna, and the mouth of a tick.

Did they look like this?

 

[Teegate]

That is it for sure. Exactly!

 

[Sue Gremlin]

That's a Lone Star larva.

 

[Teegate]

I figured. That proves to me that what I and most everyone else has been calling chiggers are really ticks. No doubt about it.

 

[Menantico]

I still call it Lebanon as well
My theory is that your more likely to get chigged where ever warm blooded animals walk.Primarily deer.So this is why they are often picked up in roads.Deer walk these same as we do.You need grass or something growing in the road for the chigs to climb.They climb and wait very patiently for the scent of carbon dioxide or whatever it is they smell us by and/or air currents which their very sensitive to.They feel the air move as you approach and then they reach out(I"ve seen grown ticks do this when I put my hand close to them) and grasp you as you pass by.So old roads and animal trails are high risk areas to get chigged.Boyd if your getting chigged in your driveway perhaps deer are walking it if you have a long drive through the woods say? Or if their eating plants growing in your yard.The chigs can drop off anywhere but where do animals spend much of their time? bedding area,feeding areas and travelling to and fro .We Frequent the same roads they do and thats why we get loaded on old roads full of chigger grass (I persist with chigger as well)

and I'll still call them by their cumberland county name of "jiggers!"

 

[manumuskin]

and I'll still call them by their cumberland county name of "jiggers!"

Yes I had forgotten to mention that.We do have our own way of saying a few words down here.I don't know if "crik" is indigenous to here or thats all over South Jersey but I lived in "The Crik" as a kid and again in my 20's.Chasin fiddler crabs and snakes and gittin tore up by "skeeters" and greenheads

 

[manumuskin]

and I'll still call them by their cumberland county name of "jiggers!"

Yes I had forgotten to mention that.We do have our own way of saying a few words down here.I don't know if "crik" is indigenous to here or thats all over South Jersey but I lived in "The Crik" as a kid and again in my 20's.Chasin fiddler crabs and snakes and gittin tore up by "skeeters" and greenheads

 

[Francisco Thompson]

Tick control is important for preventing an infestation in the home. Caulking any cracks around the house, installing screens outside windows, moving the lawn frequently, cleaning cluttered areas around the home, and getting rid of excess wood is all helpful methods for tick control.

 

[manumuskin]

Shaving the dogs bald helps too.Momma won't let me spray them with Peremethrin

 

[Teegate]

Exploding tick population -- and illnesses they bring -- worries government

https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/14/health/tick-report-hhs-bn/index.html

 

[bobpbx]

I've seen people voice concern over manipulating mouse DNA many times in order to slow this project, but they can never articulate what negative outcomes could possibly surface that would be worse than humans contracting lyme disease.

 

[Teegate]

Asian tick that clones itself could spread fast and far in the US, study says

https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/13/health/asian-longhorned-tick-us-spread-study/

 

[92 Blazer Jeff]

Allergist warn that chigger bites may cause allergic reaction to red meat, Alpha - Gal

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180831110359.htm

 

[Wreckless]

Allergist warn that chigger bites may cause allergic reaction to red meat, Alpha - Gal

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180831110359.htm

That is the thing that absolutely terrifies me. Getting a meat allergy from a tic bite.

 

[bobpbx]

I was down in Chestnut Neck today. Picked up 8 ticks. They were moving slow, thankfully. They were all deer ticks, also called black-legged ticks. Responsible for many diseases. I never knew they were down below the Mullica. This is a female.

 

[Teegate]

Great photo Bob

 

[bobpbx]

I pulled off a tick last night. Got it just by walking in low grass next to the woods in Barnegat. Again, the is a deer tick, not seen in the pines proper. I scrubbed my bite with chrlorhexidine. These do not itch as much as lone star ticks. I'll let you know if that changes.

 

[Boyd]

Wandering in my own woods, I had a tick on me yesterday and also the day before. Didn't get bitten, I brushed them off while they were still on their way to dinner. But those are the first ticks I've seen in a couple months.

 

[Boyd]

Damn!... just now pulled one off my shirt, it was a little one.