Evening star., 1936-07-21
Domestic Animals and
Household Pets Suffer
From Attacks of Pests
Insects Lurk in Underbrush and Bushes, At
taching Themselves to Any Host
That Passes By.

tnem IN passing. Iney are OlCen
brought into houses on clothing, or
attached to some animal who manages
to shake them of onto the floor,
where they hide in cracks.
The dog tick passes through four
stages-the egg, the seed-tick, or lar.
va, the nymph, and the adult. The
eggs, which are laid in patches Of
nearly 5000 on the ground, hatch first
into the tiny, six-legged seed ticks.
These attach themselves to any passing
small wild animal or bird, engorge
themselves with blood, and then drop
of to the ground. There they "molt,"
or shed their skins, gain another pair
of legs, and become brownish nymphs.
Again they attach themselves to an
other host, engorge, drop OF, and
molt once more, to become adult
males and females. The adults pass
the Winter in protected places and
emerge with the Spring to attack new
hosts. When fed, the females drop
off, find a quiet spot, and lay eggs,
to repeat the whole horrid cycle once
again.
THE Bureau Of Entomology of the
L United States Department Of Ag-
riculture says that the best way to
avoid infection by ticks, and to con-
troll their spread as much as possible,
is to begin with destruction Of under
brush around walks, camps. houses.
barns. kennels, and so forth. Pets
and all domestic animals should be
carefully watched for any invaders,
and attached ticks should be removed,
as we remarked before, with forceps.
If wound is left, because the head OF
the tick has been torn OF and left in
the skin, it should be washed, dried,
and disinfected at once.
After walking through underbrush,
it is well to subject all clothing to a
thorough and minute examination
upon your return home. Strip, and
take a bath or shower, bearing in
mind that ticks like to make for the
scalp, and so the top of the head
should receive plenty of attention.
Ticks don't drown easily, so don't de-
pend too much on water doing the job.
Look, hunt, find and kill Is the best
system to follow. If children have been
playing with pets that may have ticks
on them, or if they have been in areas
where ticks could have attached
themselves to their tender skin, or be-
come entangled in their clothing, ex-
anime their hair and bodies carefully
for any sign of the pests.
It is comforting to be told that q
tick has to stay attached to the host,
engorging for some hours before it can
infect the host with spotted fever;
this means that vigilance can consid-
erably lessen TIE danger of contracting
the disease. Also, by about the 1st of
August in this part Of the country the
number of ticks begins to grow less
although some are, Of course, active
for several months longer. However,
you will find that the insects are most
abundant in May, June and July.
A ND don't get in panic If you
should find a tick in your room
even on your bed-and think it Is an
other, far worse relative-they do look
a bit alike! The chances are that the
tick has come in on your dress or shirt,
which may have been thrown on the
bed, leaving Mr. Tick to find his way
about alone Or the tick may have
sneaked up into your hair, later to be
shaken out on your pillow. In an unfed
state, adult ticks are reddish-brown,
With decided, light markings, and eight
creepy-crawly legs. When engorged
they become almost as big as the end
of your little finger, and flesh-colored.
The legs appear ridiculously tiny, and
almost disappear from view. The whole
thing Is exceedingly unpleasant to look
at. and the quicker it is disposed of
the better.
And do remember to give your pets
the once-over often, and save them
from the annoyance and discomfort of
these blood-suckers. I remember once
seeing dog that had died because its
life had literally been sucked out Of it
by the great number of ticks attached
to its poor, wasted body. have never
been able to forget it, and wage war
with extra fury upon this particular
member of the insect family.