Is a moose tick with wings dangerous for humans?

At the end of summer, walking through the forest or relaxing in the clearing, many do not think about the dangers of meeting with such an insect as a moose tick. Basically, the bloodsucker annoys wild artiodactyl animals and cattle, parasitizing on their body in large quantities. However, an elk tick is dangerous for humans. His bite can cause not only redness, but also different types of dermatitis, accompanied by pain and itching.

Insect description

In fact, a moose tick is not a tick at all. So the people called the insect because of some external resemblance to it and the method of saturation. In fact, it belongs to the order of dipterans, and not arachnids, and is scientifically listed as a bloodsucker deer. It can also be called deer flea or louse, moose fly or bug. He feeds only on the blood of warm-blooded animals.

Reindeer bloodsuckers settle and parasitize on such breadwinners as moose, deer, deer, livestock. If these food sources were not nearby, do not disdain a dog, fox, wolverine, wild boar. They can penetrate into the hair of a person, and then into the apartment, delivering a lot of unpleasant sensations and inconveniences.

The small fly has a rigid, flat body measuring 3 to 5 mm, most of which is head. On the head there are five organs of vision: two main and three additional eyes. Despite this, the insect does not see well, orientates only along the contours and the larger the animal, the more attractive it is for him.

The abdomen of the insect is very soft and elastic, has the ability to stretch: when saturated with blood and bearing offspring. Three pairs of paws with tenacious claws extend from the chest, thanks to which it is firmly attached to the skin or coat of the animal. The bloodsucker deer is equipped with a piercing-sucking mouth apparatus, the proboscis of which first punctures the victim’s skin, and then sucks the animal’s blood.

There are also dense transparent wings, but not constant, only until the bloodsucker is on the body of the animal. After that, the sokhin flies throws them off, since the wings impede movement in the hair and now it looks like a tick or a spider with a large abdomen, but it only has 6 legs, and not 8, like all arachnids. Due to its color - from light brown to almost black - it is difficult to see a flea on the body of an animal.

Tick ​​reproduction

The most active period of development of a moose tick lasts from the end of August to October inclusive, and all stages of the process occur on the body of the animal. During this time, a moose bloodsucker manages to produce offspring. Settling on the prey at a young age, the female begins to eat intensely in order to be ready for childbearing.

After a few weeks, insects show sexual characteristics, in addition, the head becomes smaller, the body darkens. During this period, adults mate: having chosen a partner, the male tightly clings to her and continues to subsequently live as a couple. After 16 days, the female begins to lay larvae - one at a time with an interval of several days. Larvae are not adapted to fix on wool, therefore they fall to the ground, where they remain until the first spring heat. Within a few hours, their body becomes denser. Then the wings grow and gradually the larva turns into a deer bloodsucker.

Next, the insect goes in search of a suitable host, in the wool of which it will spend all winter time.The breeding season for ticks lasts until March. In winter, they stay awake, eat, remain active. With the advent of spring, the cycle will repeat. Adults will die, and the larvae, having grown wings, will fly to moose, deer or roe deer. Over the entire period of life, the female lays up to 30 larvae. The number of ticks depends on the number of artiodactyls in a particular area.

Bloodsucker Harm

Despite the large wings (relative to the body), the fly almost does not fly, therefore, prefers to wait for the owner in the bushes or grass, where animals usually feed and from there fly over to their hair. It is equipped with well-developed heat and odor sensors, so during a picnic it can freely be near a person.

Small-sized bloodsuckers are capable of severely exhausting a large animal with their voracity and bringing it considerable discomfort. Preparing for childbirth, the female begins to eat intensely - up to 20 times a day. If we take into account that every 2–3 days it lays larvae, and one blood intake is from 0.3 to 1.5 mg, it becomes clear what damage is caused to the health of the animal, up to a thousand insects parasitizing on its body.

Over the winter, the artiodactyl organism is so depleted that some young and weakened individuals die. Appetite disappears in livestock, stress levels increase, and for this reason, the amount of milk is reduced. Bloodsuckers also do not spare horses - they occupy the mane of the animal most of all.

The sting of a deer fly is rather painful for the animal; on the body it holds on average from 15 to 20 days, representing large mounds with subcutaneous hemorrhage. Abscesses and redness may form around them.

Danger to humans

Despite the fact that ticks prey on animals, there are times when insects bite a person. Mass attacks were recorded (more than 100 units per minute). This happens more often in dry, quiet weather, usually in a forest or field. Moose flies are most active in late summer - early fall. They react to large moving silhouettes, children are not attracted to them. Maybe this explains that, mainly bloodsuckers attack adults. Foresters, shepherds and hunters are at greater risk.

For people, the main danger that comes from deer bloodsucker is bites and their consequences, manifested in the form of skin diseases. Climbing onto a person, she firmly clings to her shaggy paws and freezes. Then it begins to make its way under the clothes to the body radiating heat. Having settled, pierces the skin and starts a meal.

More often the tick strives to get on the head. In the hair, you can easily catch and get tangled, become difficult to reach for removal by a person. Due to the structure of the body and its density, the bloodsucker is practically invulnerable to physical impact. It cannot be crushed, like a mosquito or a fly, by a slap of the hand, and tenacious claws do not allow scaring or shaking off. It will remain on the body until it is removed or accidentally itself falls away.

Ticks cannot exist on humans for a long time, they are delayed no more than 2 days, since human blood is not suitable for completing the reproductive cycle and reproducing offspring.

Consequences of a bite

Deer bloodsucker is dangerous for humans with allergic reactions to the skin, inflammation, various types of dermatitis. In addition, the bites are quite painful, but each person reacts differently. In few people, only a red spot remains, which disappears without a trace after 2-3 days, and the pain is almost absent. But most have:

• strong pain;
• hyperemia at the site of a bite;
• itching and severe burning of the affected area of ​​the skin.

An elk tick is not a carrier of any infections or viruses, but it cannot be called absolutely harmless either. Studies by scientists prove that about 20% of insects contain Lyme disease pathogens.

After a bite, skin manifestations are inevitable, especially in people who are susceptible to flying mite saliva enzymes. The consequences of a bite can be as follows:

1. In addition to redness, seals or so-called papules are formed, protruding above the surface of the skin.
2. An intolerable itching, swelling of the affected areas appears.
3. A macular rash often spreads with a crust.
4. Blisters form.
5. Red and edematous dermographism - skin irritation, accompanied by a tumor, at the site of a bite appears more often in people predisposed to urticaria.

This condition can persist up to 3 weeks, and can provoke an acute inflammatory process that requires long-term medical treatment.

The elk louse is also dangerous for humans by the fact that with the first bite of a parasite, human immunity fights more actively and at the same time copes with the invasion of toxins in the body. But with each subsequent bite, the symptoms and consequences become more complex and severe.

First aid

If you find a moose bug on your clothes, you need to immediately shake it off, and when you feel a bite, remove it and place it in a jar as soon as possible, after putting a moistened piece of cotton wool in it in order to deliver it to the laboratory for infection detection.

There are several ways to remove the moose fly:

1. This method has been tested for years and more than once saved the victims. In place of the bite, you need to drip sunflower oil. Having thus blocked the access of oxygen, the tick itself will go out into the air. Instead of oil, you can use any greasy cream or petroleum jelly.
2. For lack of these funds, the parasite is eliminated with the help of a nylon or other durable thread. Prying it under the abdomen of an insect, tie a tight knot, trying to place it closer to the head. Then, swinging the thread around, gently pull out the tick.
3. You can get rid of it with tweezers. Grabbing the instrument under the stomach, you should unscrew the bloodsucker counterclockwise. The procedure is performed slowly and gradually, otherwise the proboscis may remain in the body.

After elimination, you need to make sure that the tick is intact, as if carelessly removed, its head or proboscis may remain under the skin in the form of a small splinter. Many do not attach importance to this, mistakenly thinking that a part of the insect is harmless and will disappear with time. However, the remainder of the bloodsucker will provoke the inflammatory process and suppuration of the wound. Therefore, you need to pick up a particle with an alcohol-treated needle and remove it. If the tick was not contagious, the wound will heal very quickly.

Treatment and Precautions

The itchy area of ​​the skin can become a place for infection to enter the body, because after a bite of a deer fly, a wound appeared, albeit a very small one. When combing with dirty hands, the ingress of pathogenic microflora into the body is ensured, therefore, necessary measures must be taken:

1. The bite site is treated with an antiseptic. If there are signs of allergy (redness, swelling), use an antiallergic drug: Suprastin, Prednisolone, or Zirtex. The action of one tablet is enough for a whole day.
2. In case of severe itching, use Fenistil Gel or another similar remedy. You need to try not to scratch the damaged area, then the healing process will be faster.
3. Put a patch on the wound, and around it lubricate the skin with an antipruritic drug.
4. See a doctor.

Knowing the symptoms of a tick bite and the possible consequences with complications, it is better to entrust the treatment to a doctor. The reaction can manifest itself with a very severe allergy, because during the reception of a portion of the blood, the tick does not stop the process of life. Bloodsucker feces, dangerous for a person with increased sensitivity to the effects of irritants that cause a strong allergic reaction, can get into the wound.

The use of folk remedies calms the itch well. To alleviate the consequences of a bloodsucker bite, calendula tinctures, aloe juice, ice, soda, diluted to a pasty state, are effectively used. It is also recommended the use of funds from flea bites.For example, the most inexpensive of them is the Zvezdochka balm.

Before going to the forest, in order not to become a victim of an attack of bloodsuckers, you need to handle clothes with potent repellents. These are means that have a deterrent effect and do not allow insects to approach a person at a distance they reach. But the main weapon for combating the tick is a covered head and correctly selected clothes, which should cover all parts of the body as much as possible. Do not forget to hide your ears under a shawl or a tight-fitting hat so that the elk louse does not penetrate into them and does not cause unpleasant, serious consequences.