Peak tick season for nymphs usually occurs during the spring and summer months, while adults are a threat in the late fall. Ticks are blood-sucking parasites commonly found throughout Canada. Both animal and human hosts remain prone to tick paralysis, which may result in the loss of muscle function, most commonly associated with the reaction a person or animal may have to a neurotoxin produced in the salivary gland of the tick. Some of the more common diseases vectored by ticks include Lyme disease, which causes fatigue and may also lead to extreme problems with the central nervous system. In severe cases, the disease may prove fatal. Tularemia acts as a severely infectious bacterial condition characterized by fever, weight loss, and ulcers at the site of the infection. American dog ticks are known carriers for such diseases as Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. Ticks are important vectors of disease they carry bacteria and viruses known to cause serious illness in both humans and animals. Most ticks range in size comparable to a small seed to the size of a pea, though when engorged with blood, the arthropod may appear larger. Depending on the species, colouration may vary from browns and blacks to variations of greys and whites. Males possess larger scuta than females, which restrict the expansion during blood feeding. On hard ticks, the body is covered by a thick plate called a scutum. The body, called an idiosoma, is the region that expands with blood when feeding. Unlike insects, which have heads capable of moving independently, the heads of ticks are fused to the thorax. Ticks have external mouthparts which extend from their heads. While insects possess three segmented body regions, six legs, and generally have wings, a tick lacks wings, only possesses two body regions, and has eight legs after reaching full maturity. AppearanceĬommonly misidentified as an insect, a tick is not an insect but an arthropod. Common tick species found throughout Canada include the black-legged tick, more commonly known as the deer tick, the brown dog tick, the American dog tick, and the Rocky Mountain wood tick. While some species may not survive indoors, some species such as brown dog ticks are capable of surviving and breeding indoors. With over 850 species of ticks identified worldwide, the parasites may enter homes when feeding on household pets, which is particularly common with dogs. Both categories flourish throughout North America, though the most commonly occurring types in Canada are hard ticks. Ticks fall into two families, hard and soft ticks. Most are external parasites on mammals, birds, and reptiles and known vectors of various diseases to both humans and animals, domestic and wild. Ticks belong to the same class as spiders and mites, characterized by having four pairs of legs and no antennae.
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