Ticks - Yuck!

The wooded and grassy areas around Nairobi are favorite tick habitats.

In the last few days, I’ve pulled two ticks off our dog. The first was huge, bloated with Bacchus’ blood to the size of a cranberry. It was disgusting. The second was a lot smaller, but no less revolting.

For all the time I’ve spent outside in grassy and wooded areas, I’ve had remarkably little interaction with ticks. But this recent experience sent me both to the internet, and to the vet.

If you know anything about ticks, you are probably aware that they are nasty parasites, whose only purpose in life seems to be to suck blood and transmit unpleasant diseases. They are arachnids, and like spiders have eight legs. Ticks like warm, humid climates, preferably with plenty of grass, woods, and deer – though other warm-blooded targets will do, too.

I tried to see if there were any redeeming features related to ticks – like being part of the food chain. But their only role seems to be as vectors for various diseases. And like the equally detestable cockroach, they are incredibly resilient. Ticks resist environmental stresses, regenerate lost body parts, and have few natural enemies. They’ve been around for millions of years (!) and have been found in ancient amber, among other places.

When they attach themselves to a person or animal, ticks use the barbs on two of their legs to create a small wound. Then they insert their mouth, spit out a substance to thin the blood (as do mosquitoes), and go to work engorging themselves. Yuck.

In the process, ticks spread any number of diseases. In the US, the tick-borne diseases you hear most about are Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, though there is a long list of others from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Europe also has Lyme disease. Here in Africa, the big risks from ticks are African spotted fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, relapsing fever, and a series of others – none of which sound pleasant.

In Kenya, ticks are the number one health risk for livestock – in a country of herders who depend desperately on their animals for food, income, and cultural status. Ticks cause millions of dollars of losses each year due to livestock illness, death, morbidity, and lost productivity. Worldwide, that figure runs into the tens of billions of dollars, annually.

Because the diseases they carry can mutate quickly, there is no vaccine. So the best prevention is DEET-based formulas (including a weekly rinse for the dog). Researchers are investigating alternatives, especially for livestock, due to the costs and health effects of pesticide treatments. They are looking into biological approaches, seeing if they can use natural tick enemies such as fungi, bacteria, protozoa, or nematodes.

“Go nematodes!” I say.

In the meantime, I’m not curtailing our outings or time spent outdoors. I’m just keeping a more watchful eye for ugly little freeloaders on the dog – or myself.

And I’ve developed a new appreciation for the expression “to be ticked off.”

My one consolation is that I am not alone in my revulsion for ticks. There are entire websites and facebook pages dedicated to people who hate them.

So, at least I’m in good company.