Evening star., 1933-06-25
CARE IN HANDLING
WOOD TICKS URGED.
EntomoIogist Suggest Ways
to Cut Down Numbers
of New Pest.

Campers and mixers need not forego
trips to the woods because of the preva-
lence in the Washington area of the
Eastern wood tick, or, as it sometimes
called, the American dog tick-carrier
of spotted fever-Dr. F. c.. Bishop, of
the Bureau of Entomology, Department
of Agriculture, declared yesterday. How
ever, DR.. Bishopp, who is in charge
of Investigations on insects affecting
man and animals, lays down few
simple precautions which campers may
follow in order to guard against pos
Sible tick infection.
He recommends the use of laced-top
boots worn over the trousers. to pre-
vent ticks crawling up the legs, and
frequent examination of the clothing
and the body for ticks. In areas where
ticks are known to be extremely abun-
dant, the use of rags dipped in kero-
sene and tied to the top of the boots
or higher on the leg is recommended.
AS an added precaution the Bureau
Of Entomology suggests that clothing
which has been worn in a t1ck-infested
area be fumigated.
Remove Ticks Immediately.
DR.. Bishopp laid special stress on
the necessity for removing ticks found
on the body Immediately. 'Investi-
cations conducted by the Public Health
Service" he said, have shown that
the disease organisms in the tick DO
not become dangerous until it has fed
for a few hours. The great danger,
therefore, is in allowing ticks to remain
on the body for period Of six hours
or longer
ITO remove q tick DR.. Bishopp ex-
planned. take hold Of it close to the
skin, either with the finger nails or a
pair of forceps. It may be good pre-
caution to cauteriZe the exact point
where the beak Of the tick has been in
serted by grilling 1t with round
pointed toothpick, dipped in iodine" ;"
To flImigate clothing which has been
worn in tick-infested areas, Dr.. Bfshopp
suggests dropping 1t into a small-size
garbage can with tight cover. "A
pan of carbon tetrachloride, In the
proportion of one tablespoonful to each
cubic foot of space in the can. should
be placed on top Of the clothing and
the can left closed for at least an hour.
Supplementing studies made by him
over a protracted period, DR.. Bishopp
has for the past few weeks been max
ing special Investigations of the tick
situation in this vicinity. These 1nves-
tigations show that ticks are most abun-
dant in wooded areas, especially where
there is considerable undergrowth; that
they remain en- vegetation rather close
to the ground and attach themselves
to the clothing of those passing through
such vegetation; that the young stages
Of the tick attach themselves to various
small wild rodents, such as pine mice, |
white-footed mice and meadow mice; |
and that the preferred host of the tick
is the dog although some OF them en- |
gorge on horses and still fewer on |
cattle.
Lines of Attack.
These studies clearly indicate" DR.. |
Bishopp said, certain lines Of attack, |
which, if put into effect, will undoubt- |
edly result in decrease in the number |
of ticks. 1t would seem utterly hope |
less to eradicate the tick entirely, pIS |,
it seems quite obvious that if the num- |
ber of ticks is greatly reduced, es- |
pecially in the vicinity of populous cen
ters, the chance of people contracting
Rocky Mountain spotted fever from
their bites will be materially lessened.
1t also is probable that the spread OF
the infection among wild animal life
will be reduced if the ticks are suft1-
ciently kept down in numbers.
The attack against the ticks should
be directed first against the adult ticks
and second against the immature
stages. In controlling the adults, peo-
pie are urged to prevent the engorge- |
ment of the females on dogs, horses |
and other domestic animals. To bring !
this about it is recommended that ali |
stray dogs be disposed of and that |
other animals be kept under close sur
veillance. Clipping long-haired dogs |
greatly AIDS in Manipulating the ticks. |
Keeping dogs tied up so that they do |
not have free run Of tick-mfested |
areas will prevent them from becoming |
infested Every dog that is free should |
be examined at least every four or five |
days and all ticks removed. Since there |
is some danger of getting infected blood |
in the eyes or in injured places on the |
hands, it is best to use pair of for !
ceps in removing the ticks.
Drops Them in Kerosene.
"As they are picked off the ticks |
should be dropped in jar Of kerosene, /
and after the operation is complete the |
hands should be thoroughly washed |
with a good cleansing soap and nail
brush. If the dogs in a given COM
munity are picked sufficiently often to |
prevent the dropping of any engorged |
females during an entire season. the |
number Of ticks the following year will |
be greatly lessened, and the second year |
the reduction will be still more marked. |
Since the immature ticks must have
small wild animals upon which to feed,
the desira bility of the destruction of
these animals is clearly indicated. Yer
non Bailey of the Bureau of Biological
Survey, who has co-operated with DR..
Bishopp in Investigations Of ticks in
Washington and vicinity, points out
that if underbrush, grass and weed cover
in fy1fn fn6 &c rc6 n
mics of the small mice-one of the tick
carriers-will be able to dispose Of
these mice. 1t is therefore urged that
underbrush in woody areas and tall
grass and weeds be cut at once and
kept rather short throughout the sea-
son. The destruction OF small wild ami
mails by poisoning and trapping may be
warranted in certain instances"
In order to successfully control
pest, DR.. Blshopp emphasized, it is nee
esSary to have an intimate knowledge
of its life history and habits. The wood
tick goes through four stages in its de-
velopment-the egg, the seed tick or
larva. the nymph and the adult. The
eggs are laid on the ground in masses
of about three TO five thousand. These
hatch IN about month into tiny, six
legged seed ticks or larvae. The seed
ticks remain in clusters on the vegeta-
ton until some wild animal passes and
brushes against them. Then then at
tach themselves to the animal, engorge
with blood in four TO six days, drop TO
the ground, molt their skins and change
into eight-legged, brownish nymphs
These nymphal ticks in turn engorge
on small Wild animals, drop off and
mott to adult males and females. The
adult ticks pass the Winter in protected
places and emerge in the Spring to at
tack man and the larger wild and do
mestic animals.
ULM LANDS AT SINGAPORE