The tick can bite you during a walk in the forest or in nature and can cling to your skin. For how long ? Does it fall off after a while? What is its lifespan? Advice and pictures.
Ticks are particularly active in spring, summer and early fall. They live in wooded and humid areas such as forests, parks, embankments, meadows or gardens. A tick bite is not synonymous with contamination. Only About 15% of ticks carry bacteria which can lead to Lyme disease. However, we must remain very vigilant to the symptoms that may appear following a bite.
How long does the tick stay on the skin?
The tick feeds on blood by clinging to the skin of a human or animal. It bites, clings to the skin and slowly swells with blood over a period of 2 to 7 days (depending on the stage of its moult) if it is not removed before or if it does not fall off on its own (in most cases, the tick does not remain attached to the skin and falls off on its own when it has finished its meal) , report it Ministry of Health and Social Services from Canada. We may not even notice that we have been bitten because the bite usually does not hurt : the bite of a tick is painless because the tick injects numbing substances in the skin. This is why it is essential to carefully inspect your body after any risky outing to detect the possible presence of a tick.
A tick attached to the skin looks like a small black or dark brown teardrop-shaped growth. Very often, with the naked eye, we can distinguish the tick’s mouthparts and legs (see picture below). The sting can be located on any part of the body, but it is more often located in areas where there is hair (but also the head, waist or underarms). The bite can sometimes cause reddening of the skin that disappears in 1 or 2 days. When removing a tick, do not use fingers or fingernails as the tick’s head may crush and remain embedded in the skin. The tick remover is the best way to remove a tick because it does not leave the tick’s head in the skin. It is available in pharmacies from 5 euros the pocket with two hooks. The area of the bite should then be thoroughly disinfected.
Photo of a tick under the skin
To find a host, the tick is equipped with carbon dioxide sensors located at the end of its front legs, which allows it to detect the presence of a host.
Can a tick fall off on its own?
Yes in most cases, when it has finished its meal, the tick unhooks itself and drops to the ground, informs theAssociation France Lyme.
What is the lifespan of a tick?
A tick can live up to 3 or 4 years old and only takes a meal (lasting several days, 10 to 12 on average) at each stage of its life: larva-nymph passage, nymph-adult passage, reproduction and egg-laying, according to the National Institute of Agronomic Research (INRAE).
- Portrait of ticks – INRAE
- France Lyme Association website
- Department of Health and Social Services of Canada