How do ticks mate? How do ticks die?

If you are a Central Mass resident, you have likely had a tick encounter. Either on yourself, your children, or your pets. Those ticks obviously come to the end of their life cycle when found, but how do ticks meet their natural end? How do ticks die?

The 2-year tick life cycle is much about questing for their blood meal, either to survive and grow to adulthood, or to mate and produce a new generation of blood-suckers.

how do ticks die

Protect your family from tick-borne illnesses with professional Central Mass tick control.

How and when do ticks mate? Once a female tick reaches adulthood, her final quest for the ultimate blood meal begins. She is looking for this blood, so she can finally mate with an adult male tick. She will quest for blood sources for days. Once she becomes engorged, she seeks a mate.

tick laying eggs, courtesy of CDC.gov — Tick laying her army of blood-suckers – courtesy of CDC.gov

How many eggs can one female tick produce? Once the adult female tick has mated, she will lie in wait under cover of leaves, rocks, or in wood piles to lay her eggs. One female tick can produce 1,500, 3,000, or even up to 5,000 eggs!

How do male ticks die? After an adult male tick has found at least one mate, his life’s mission is complete. This does not mean that he dies immediately after mating, but they do die eventually after mating. It could be months before an adult male tick dies.

ticks on poppy seed muffin — Nymph ticks compared to poppy seed – courtesy of CDC.gov

When do tick eggs hatch? It may take less than two weeks, or up to two months for tick eggs to hatch into tiny larvae. Once tick eggs hatch, these new larval ticks must seek their own blood meals in order to survive and grow. Once engorged, they molt in the winter, and emerge as tiny, sesame or poppy seed-sized nymph ticks. Nymph ticks are spreaders of infectious tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease.

How do female ticks die? Soon after an adult female has produced her army of offspring, she meets her natural end. Her life is all about getting to adulthood in order to mate and lay eggs.

Central Mass Lyme disease prevention begins with effective tick control.

Dave Macchia, tick control enthusiast — Dave Macchia, Central Mass tick control enthusiast

As residents of Central MA we must remain vigilant in the fight against Lyme disease and other diseases, such as the potentially fatal Powassan virus. Tick control is not a seasonal affair. There are methods of tick control, such as tick tubes, which can halt the tick life cycle with year-round protection.

What do ticks look like? Can they swim?

Ticks are common in Central Mass, and most of our residents have come in contact with one at one time or another.

In many ways, ticks elude us. What do ticks look like? Do ticks have wings? Can ticks swim? Even though ticks are rampant in our area, many of us still have questions about tick habits and physical traits. Folks still wonder if they fly. How they survive winter. Here is a common list of tick questions and answers.

what do ticks look like?

What do ticks look like?

Ticks are arachnids, just like spiders. This means they have four sets of legs. They are in the sub class Acari, along with mites. Their coloring can range from light gray-ish white, brown, black, yellow, and brownish-red. Ticks are a flat, oval shape when not engorged with a tasty blood meal.

How big are ticks?

Ticks have three distinct life stages throughout their two-year life cycle. Larvae ticks are very small, and can be unnoticeable. In this stage of life, they are about the size of a grain of sand. In their next stage of life, nymph ticks have grown to the size of a sesame seed. Adult ticks are similar in size to an apple seed.

Do ticks have wings?

Ticks do not have wings. They do not fly or jump. Ticks quest by attaching themselves to plants or limbs. They hold on to leaves and grass with two sets of their legs, and outstretch their other legs awaiting a host to pass. If you are wondering how ticks cover so much territory, it is because they are transported by their hosts – animals and humans. The sheer number of ticks in Central Mass might make it seem like they are fast travelers. This is untrue without a host. Ticks are just – everywhere!

Can ticks swim?

This is an interesting question, and a common one! While ticks do not swim, they can survive submerged in water for two to three days. Do not try to kill ticks by drowning them in the bathtub or swimming pool. The only surefire method of destroying a tick in water, is by flushing them down the toilet.

Also read: What repels ticks naturally?

Do ticks die in the winter?

Do ticks die in the winter? No, they do not! Even in cold Central Mass winter temperatures, ticks are resourceful and will survive in nests of other animals or even underground. Ticks will lie dormant in winter, waiting for warm weather to return, so they can invade our favorite outdoor spaces.

Can a tick bite kill you?

Tick bites can result in illnesses, such as Lyme disease, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can make us very sick. Powassan virus is another tick-borne illness, which can cause a deadly brain infection. Even people, who have lived through Powassan can remain ill, or even die from the effects. Recently in North Carolina, former US Senator, Kay Hagan, died three years after contracting Powassan, which resulted in Encephalitis. She remained ill for three years before passing away.

Ticks are not just a nasty nuisance in Central Massachusetts. They are effective questing insects, who live for their next blood meal. The single best way to protect your family is with year-round Central Mass tick protection, which includes tick tubes in the winter.

How to Remove and Dispose of a Tick

How do you properly remove a tick? Once removed, how do you dispose of a tick? There are a lot of theories floating on the Internet.

Listening to people discuss their methods of disposing removed ticks can range from hilarious to frightening. If you’ve heard these discussions, you may begin to ask yourself if others feel about ticks the same way they feel about werewolves or other monsters. Many ideas for disposing of a tick seem both inhuman and punitive to the tick. That’s probably why we never see protestors demanding an end to cruel and unusual punishment against ticks.

Ticks don’t need to be feared. Yes, they will suck your blood. Yes, they can give you a disease, actually several very nasty ones. Scientists believe though that they need to be on your skin drinking your blood between 24-48 hours before your risk of infection becomes significant.

So before you get your flame thrower out or fire up the grill to make a funeral pyre for a tick you find this summer, let’s look at some creative methods of eliminating ticks others have used. On wikiHow.com, there are five methods listed. Readers have added even more. Some of these are comical. You’ll see our recommendation down below but this list was so interesting, we had to share.

Do not remove or dispose of a tick any of these ways!

First, there is fire. You may have heard of using fire to burn a tick on your skin in order to make it release its grip. That’s a bad practice for several reasons, including risk of burning yourself. It’s also a perfect way for the tick to dump its infectious bacteria quickly into your blood before it releases or dies. So, remove first and dispose of second.

Next, there is the flush. Once the tick is removed, the suggestion is to wrap it in toilet paper and flush it down the toilet. You may fear the tick won’t go all the way down or that it will crawl back up if it has only been partially flushed down the drain. Although no cases have been reported, you imagine “Tick Terminator” coming back for revenge. This is another not so good idea. It’s not likely your tick will return but you may need the tick for reasons we will explain later.

Third is the microwave. I don’t know about you but the idea of using something I warm my food in as an insect crematorium makes me want to eat cold food all summer long. The website points out there may be issues with putting the tick in a plastic bag and then placing it in a microwave. It mentions tick blood and juices inside the bag may get inside the microwave, if the bag explodes. YUCK!”

The first defense in tick protection is total tick control – call on a Central Mass tick spray professional!

Fourth is alcohol. This may well work but may also will take some time. Ticks can hold their breath a long time so you may want to get a cold drink and rent a movie if this is your method of tick termination. But again, remove the tick first and dispose of second.

Fifth is my favorite. It involves releasing the tick harmlessly. I knew my fellow animal lovers wouldn’t fail me. This is the catch-and-release version of insect control. The recommendation is to release the tick “a long way from your house”. Releasing the tick into say, your neighbor’s yard, will likely mean you won’t see that tick again. Ticks don’t crawl very far and have a limited home territory so you’re probably safe from that one. Unfortunately, the newborn ticks that the released tick makes will probably find their way on your property within a year. By then your neighbor may not be speaking to you and you’ll need to find another drop-off point to practice catch-and-release.

How to remove and dispose of a tick.

So what’s the actual best way to dispose of a tick? First, before terminating it, you need to remove it from the skin properly. Removing it properly will reduce your risk of infection and remove all the infected tick parts. Follow these tick removal instructions!

Once removed, the next step is to seal the tick tightly in a clear plastic bag or an old prescription bottle. Skip the microwave part. Observe yourself for symptoms for at least the next 30 days. It can take many tick disease symptoms, including Lyme Disease, that many days to appear. Keeping any tick you remove from your skin in a sealed plastic bag will allow it to be tested. Testing the tick, is the best way for your doctor to know what tick disease you may have. Even partial ticks missing their head, legs, etc. can be tested for diseases.

Save your matches, microwave and grill for lighting fires and cooking this summer. Ticks don’t need to be tortured for being ticks. More importantly, removing and preserving your tick properly can go a long way to you receiving a correct diagnosis and being treated quickly.

Also read: Do not remove a tick with peppermint oil!

Dave Macchia Mosquito Squad square 2 — Dave Macchia, Tick Control Enthusiast

Fall Is The Best Time To Eliminate Ticks And Mosquitoes in MA

Summer is officially over, kids are back in school, winter is coming, so it’s time to think about Thanksgiving and forget about ticks and mosquitoes, right? Not exactly. Mosquito and tick protection is a year-round concern!

Ticks and mosquitoes are doing their own planning. In short, they’re planning to be in your yard next spring in even larger numbers. Now is the best time to eliminate ticks and mosquitoes. Here’s why.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know by now that October and November are breeding season for ticks. Mosquitoes breed on average every 4 weeks during their 2-3 month life cycle. Cold weather will kill off a few species but most mosquitoes will simply go dormant in cold weather. Eggs laid this fall won’t hatch until next spring when the weather warms.

Blacklegged ticks are most responsible for Lyme Disease and are commonly called Deer Ticks for a reason. Now is the time of year female ticks hitch a ride and drink a blood meal necessary to make eggs. The white-tailed deer is the best resource to provide that last blood meal. They are large enough to supply fully-grown ticks with the necessary blood meal they need to lay eggs. The eggs laid this fall will hatch next spring into larvae. The male ticks don’t need a blood meal since their life is over as adults but they hitch a ride on the deer to simply mate with the females. One deer can nourish thousands of female ticks with their last blood meal before they lay their eggs.

The females will leave most of these tick eggs in the nests of white – footed mice. These mice are prevalent around Central Mass homes and in every state where Lyme Disease is endemic. The newly hatched eggs will become larvae in the spring. The larvae ticks will need a blood meal to move onto the nymph stage later in the spring. Their first blood meal is often taken from the mouse that provided them a home during the winter.

As for female mosquitoes, they will deposit their eggs in damp soil, tree knotholes and anywhere that spring rains will allow the eggs to hatch when the weather turns warm. Like ticks, cold will not kill mosquito eggs. Predation is their main enemy but there are few bugs or other insects out during the winter, so few eggs will be eliminated.

By eliminating adult ticks and mosquitoes in the fall, you can reduce their numbers in your yard next spring and summer. October and November are the peak months for female ticks to get their last blood meal and lay their eggs. You can learn more about the tick life cycle at the American Lyme Disease Foundation website discussing Deer Tick Ecology.

Even if you’re not currently using a tick and mosquito perimeter spray, you can still reduce ticks in your yard next spring. A tick tube program is a highly effective method for eliminating the tick population in your yard before spring. It is specifically designed to eliminate nymph ticks now that will be adults late next summer. A one-time application a barrier spray now will reduce the adult population of both insects, thereby reducing the number of eggs they can lay in or near your yard. Now is the best time to begin protecting your family and pets from infectious bites next spring.

Westminster Tick Control – Break the 2-Year Life Cycle of Ticks

You might think the fall is the end of tick season and that you will soon be protected from tick bites with the approaching colder weather. If so, you are partially correct.

Ticks in Central Mass will begin to go dormant in weather below 45 degrees F. by hiding in the nests of white-footed mice. No amount of cold will eliminate ticks and there’s one other fact you need to know about the fall and ticks.

A tick’s life cycle is usually 2-years long. Ticks that were eggs last fall are now nymphs. They have taken two blood meals to reach this stage in their life cycle. Because of these two blood meals, often taken from several small animals or birds infected with Lyme Disease, they are now the most infectious to humans. Next spring these nymphs will leave the mouse’s nest. They will be the size of a poppy seed, making them difficult to see on our clothes and skin. After their third blood meal next spring, they will become larger during mid-summer and be adults in the fall of next year. At this last stage of their life cycle, the males will fertilize the females and the females will produce a new generation of ticks in your yard.

Westminster tick control is available now, to protect you next year.

Now is the time of year to interrupt the tick’s life cycle in your yard and reduce your exposure to nymph ticks next spring. By using a tick tube program, you can eliminate ticks around your home even before next spring. The tick tubes are placed out now will provide nesting material, treated with tick insecticide, the white-footed mouse will use to build its nest this winter. This nesting material will eliminate ticks in the nest without harming the mice. The net result is fewer ticks in your yard next spring and a head start at eliminating your family’s exposure to ticks all summer long.

When you sign up for Westminster tick control spray treatments next summer, it will eliminate 85-90% of the ticks in your yard all summer long. Treatments are scheduled at your convenience every 21 days. The spray will eliminate newly hatched ticks, nymph ticks and adult ticks in your yard. Ticks brought into your yard by any animals such as squirrels, raccoons, fox and deer will be eliminated by the spray. Using the tick tube program now and the barrier spray next spring through next fall will reduce your exposure to tick-borne infections.

The town of Westminster has posted an online document explaining the Steps You Can Take in preventing ticks in your yard. The document highlights the importance of using a licensed applicator in treating your yard to prevent ticks. A link to a Tick Management Handbook published by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention is also in this informative document.

A licensed Westminster tick control spray applicator will be fully trained and qualified in providing the tick tube and barrier spray services you need to protect you, your family and pets.

Tag: adult ticks