Gunnison news-champion., 1924-07-04
Ranch and Rance
PRECAUTIONS WILL
AVOID WOOD TICK TROUBLE

Agricultural College News-NoteS:-
At this time Of the year people pic
u.ckiHg In the hills often become
greatly alarmed NJ finding woodticks
on the clothes or body. Altho il has
bayn proven that this tick carries
Roxy Mountain spotted fever in some
alarm IL this state. and with a little
PrecautiOn, Is practically harmless.
4 few cases Of fever have been re-
ported IN Colorado, namely Carbon
tale and Rife. In May two cases
sere reported from Redstone, west of
ron Collins. Very few spotted fever
raae, are fatal outside the Bitter Root
Valley, Montana, altho II is said TO
produce stcrility.
! he wood tick occurs quite common
ly from March To July through the
foothills and mountains up to 1000 ele-
,4u0H. According to Hunter and
Bsh0pp, the winter is passed as un-
eugorged males and females and
nymphs tyoung ticks). They begin
attacking their warm blooded hosts.
including man, about March 18th and
continue TO do 80 until about July Is.
IgTng this period the female deposits
egg, the over-wintering nymphs grow
"a adults during the summer and
autumn months and pass the winter
% gneRgOrged condition. thus reduir-
l-g about two years for their develop
mcrt. As much as three years may
be required TO complete development
under unfavorabie conditions.
The engorged females. after mating,
drop from the host and deposit about
1000 eggs within 80 days. The eggs
hatch in about Is TO 81 days, depend
HV on the temperature. The newly
hatched seed ticks" shortly crawl up
blades Of grass or other objects and
await the coming of n host, usually
one Of the smaller species Of rodents,
such as ground squirrls, chipnunks,
woodchucks, pine squirrels and wood
rats.
Personal protection against wood
ticks is very important. "Tick-proof"
clothing consists of laced boots with
bellows tongue, or wrapped leggings
which come well up over the trousers,
so that the ticks Will have to crawl up
the outside of the clothing and can
be picked off more easily. Heavy
stockings on the outside Of the trous-
ers will produce the same result. The
ticks have tendency to crawl upward
until stopped by n tight-fitting gar
ment, such as closed shirt collar, be-
fore they start feeding. Thus il a
belt is worn without suspenders and
the shirt left open. the tick will crawl
upward and finding no obstruction.
viii be felt crawling on the face or the
back Of the neck and can be picked Oft.
IL tu - .Rt t,, sE,s,
kind Of suit that the hair on the
back Of the neck is clipped.
After returning from tick-infested
places, careful search of the body
should be made for ticks which may
have attached themselves and escaped
notice. Ticks should be removed as
soon as discovered. In doing this. the
tick should be pulled gently, lest the
head be pulled off and left in the skin,
making a very annoying sore. An
other way to remove the tick is to
cover il with turpentine or kerosene
or grease il. This closes its breathing
pores and causes il to loosen its hold
and drop off. When attached very
firmly and for some time, they may be
pried of by needle thrust into the
skin Immediately beneath the ticks
head
Experiments conducted by Mr..
Moore showed that tick must feed
one hour and IS minutes or longer be-
infection with spotted fever to the
host is produced. This means that a
tick, even though attached to the body
for two hours, has very little or no
chance of producing spotted fever if
removed and the wound disinfected.
The sheep tick does not carry the
Rocky Mountain spotted fever and is
entirely harmless to man. 1t has only
three pair of legs and can thus be told
from the wood tick which has four
pair of legs in the nymph or adult
stage.