Here Are The Biting Ticks In Virginia: High Number Of Lyme Cases

VIRGINIA — Warm weather has arrived in Virginia which has brought out flowers, but it's also drawn out a pest that latches onto flesh and survives by eating blood. We're talking, of course, about ticks, and there are plenty of them in Virginia. Too many, in fact. The Commonwealth has the ninth highest number of Lyme cases in the country.

Many different species of the tiny arachnids are found all over the globe, but only a few of them bite and transmit diseases: American dog tick, blacklegged tick (also known as a deer tick), brown dog tick, Gulf Coast tick, lone star tick, Rocky Mountain wood tick and western blacklegged tick.

Virginia is home to at least five of them, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• American dog tick. Diseases transmitted: Tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
• Blacklegged or deer ticks. Diseases transmitted: Lyme disease, anaplasmosis), B. miyamotoi disease (a form of relapsing fever), ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and Powassan virus disease
• Brown dog tick. Diseases transmitted: Rocky Mountain spotted fever
• Gulf Coast tick. Diseases transmitted:Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis, a form of spotted fever.
• Lone star tick. Diseases transmitted: Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii (which cause human ehrlichiosis), Heartland virus, tularemia, and STARI.

When ticks hatch from eggs, they have to “eat blood at every stage to survive,” according to the CDC. They range in size from less than one-eighth of an inch up to about five-eighth of an inch. And they find their hosts like a highly skilled assassin, detecting breath, body odor, body heat, moisture and vibration.

“Some species can even recognize a shadow,” the CDC wrote. “In addition, ticks pick a place to wait by identifying well-used paths. Then they wait for a host, resting on the tips of grasses and shrubs.”

Once on the skin, the tick inserts its feeding tube, which sometimes has barbs to keep the bug in place. Many species also secrete a cement-like substance to keep them firmly attached.

Dog-owners and most people who grew up in tick hotbeds know how dangerous they can be. Lyme disease, for one, is transmitted by the blacklegged tick in the Northeast and northern Midwest, as well as the western blacklegged tick along the Pacific coast. A recent study found that nearly half of all U.S. counties now have ticks that can spread Lyme.

And the data backs that up.

Every year, about 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the CDC by state health departments. In 2017, however, there were more than 42,000 confirmed and probable cases of Lyme reported to federal health officials. That includes 1,041 confirmed cases in Virginia, and 616 probable cases.

Lyme disease can start with flu-like symptoms including headache, fever, and fatigue accompanied by a bulls-eye rash called erythema migraines. An untreated infection moves to joints, the heart, and the nervous system.

And the actual number could be far higher, with recent estimates suggesting that about 300,000 Americans may get Lyme disease every year, the CDC said.

But ticks can also transmit a bevy of other diseases to humans and animals. Tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, for example, can be deadly. Anaplasmosis and Borrelia miyamotoi, meanwhile, can leave you with a fever, chills and a headache.

Prevention should be your first line of defense. The CDC recommends treating your clothing, shoes and camping gear with permethrin. You can apply a bug repellent that’s registered by the Environmental Protection Agency and should avoid wooded or bushy areas with high grass and leaves. Moreover, you should always check clothing and animals when going back indoors and shower soon thereafter. Ticks are known to be found under the arms, in and around ears, in the belly button, groin area, back of the knees and even around the hair.

If you find a tick, remove it as soon as possible using fine-tipped tweezers. Make sure to pull straight up with steady, even pressure to ensure part of the tick doesn’t break off in the skin. Once it’s out, clean the bite area with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.

Find and Remove Ticks from Your Body

• Bathe or shower within two hours to wash off and more easily find ticks that are crawling on you.
• Conduct a full-body tick check using a hand-held or full-length mirror to view all parts of your body upon return from tick-infested areas.
• Examine gear and pets. Ticks can ride into the home on clothing and pets, then attach to a person later, so carefully examine pets, coats, and day packs.
• Tumble dry clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing after you come indoors.
  • If the clothes are damp, additional time may be needed.
  • If the clothes require washing first, hot water is recommended. Cold and medium temperature water will not kill ticks effectively. If the clothes cannot be washed in hot water, tumble dry on low heat for 90 minutes or high heat for 60 minutes. The clothes should be warm and completely dry.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.