Now the common wood buck & Co. are lurking again in the undergrowth or in the grass for their hosts. And they are true survivors who make life difficult for you.
When the temperatures rise, it is not only mandatory to protect yourself from the scorching heat with loose clothes, but also from unpleasant ticks. After all, during the high season, the parasites wait in their hiding place for possible hosts to tap into. Many are happy when the summer is over and the ticks become less. But when do the bloodsuckers actually die? And how old can they get?
It is known that the parasites have been around for about 350 million years. In this very long time, ticks are said to have changed little evolutionarily. One reason why they have been around for so long is that the arachnids are tough.
Ticks: lifespan – that's how old the bloodsuckers get
Basically, a tick goes through three stages of development - from the larva to the nymph to the adult, sexually mature tick. This process can take about two to three years, depending on the circumstances. At each stage of development, they need a blood meal, during which the males soak up a maximum of one day and the females up to a maximum of ten days for as long as they need. So that makes three meals in a lifetime.
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However, if no host can be found for a long time, they sometimes do without food for two years. However, this also delays development and it can take up to five years for the tick to be fully formed. When they are sexually mature, they mate and the males usually die immediately after mating. The females follow them after laying the eggs.
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Although they prefer protective foliage and blades of grass as well as warm and humid areas, they can also endure for some time in drier climes, such as apartments. This can happen if, among other things, the ticks cling to clothes or in the fur of pets after a walk in the greenery. Although the humidity there is too low for the bloodsuckers, they do not have to die immediately. Even if they haven't sucked blood yet. According to experts, they can survive in the hungry state without a host in the apartment for up to about ten days.
Find out here: Redness after tick bite: That's why you should see a doctor immediately if you have a migratory redness.
Ticks in the apartment in the endurance test: wash cycle at 40 degrees Celsius, water and freezer
This means that they can even survive a wash cycle of 40 degrees Celsius, including the spin cycle, unscathed. Only at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius can they be assumed to be killed. "If you really want to be on the safe side, you have to wash your laundry at 60 degrees or put it in the tumble dryer after spending time outdoors. At lower washing temperatures, on the other hand, it cannot be ruled out that even after washing, live ticks will still remain in the clothing," explains biologist Dr. Hans Dautel, who subjected the animals to an endurance test. Here you can also read how to properly remove a tick from the skin.
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Water and cold can also do little harm to ticks. According to Dautel, they should be able to survive underwater for up to three weeks. On the other hand, they can withstand frosty temperatures down to minus 13 degrees Celsius, says Dautel. In concrete terms, this means that the tough beasts can even survive in a conventional freezer. However, at minus 20 degrees Celsius, there is a layer in the shaft at some point. But this achievement is always impressive. The latter is mainly due to the fact that the arachnids hibernate in the wild near the ground during the cold season. There, the temperatures are still bearable despite snow and permafrost.
Also interesting: That's why you should see a doctor immediately if a tick bite itches.
Read also: All about TBE: symptoms, vaccination and how to remove a tick.
Jp
