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What Does A Tick Bite Look Like?

Posted by Mosquito Squad
What Does A Tick Bite Look Like?

March 22, 2021

Ticks are pretty gross. They are pretty scary when they attach themselves to you or your pets, and the possible diseases they carry are even scarier. Every year the possibility of a tick carrying a disease that could possibly make you or your pet ill increases.

The tick bite is specifically designed to cut into your skin and lodge itself in place for several days to drink your blood. What looks like the head of the tick is actually a false head and it is called the capitulum. This capitulum has tools designed to pierce the skin to lodge the tick into a body. The main part is called the hypostome. The hypostome is like a sword that is sheathed by the chelicerae. On either side of the chelicerae are what is called palps. Palps are sensory organs that help guide the tick. The chelicerae are a pair of jaws that have many small hook-like teeth that cut into the skin of the potential host and the hook-like teeth help secure the tick. If these teeth are not enough, the tick secretes a glue like saliva. This what makes ticks difficult to remove. The hypostome is then inserted and this is how the tick sucks in the blood.

Here is what a tick bite looks like up close from Deep Look. Just click on the link. Warning - IT IS GROSS and will make you feel uncomfortable

Tick bite video

Unlike mosquitoes where only the female bites, male and female ticks will bite you or your pet and engorge themselves with blood. They will eventually release and fall off, but can cause illness in some cases by transmitting the disease they may be carrying. This is why inspection of your body is so important. If you or your pet has been in an environment that may have ticks, you need to inspect for them. A tick has to be attached to you or your pet for 36-48 hours before it can transmit anything to its host.

If you are interested in making your outdoor living area as tick free as possible, email call or Mosquito Squad. Mosquito Squad is the authority in tick and mosquito control. Our service for your backyard will help to keep your backyard mosquito bite and tick bite free.