Not all things Deer….. LD Awareness Photos

Day 2 : Lyme Disease Awareness Photos

MYTH : Deer Ticks are found only on deer and not dogs. | This statement is FALSE!

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Lyme disease is actually believed to have originated from white field mice.

Deer ticks hatch from eggs usually in the spring or summer, usually beginning in April. When born in their larvae state, they look like a tiny grain of sand as they are roughly 0.7mm or 0.025 inches long and having all six legs. They crawl to a place (usually high grass) and await a host to feed on. After one month, the larvae will molt into the nymph stage (size of a poppy seed and now has 8 legs) and can live up to 5 months after they are born without food before it dies from starvation or dehydration. Only about 10% of deer tick actually survive and find their first meal. They prefer to attach to a rodent (mice, chipmunks, squirrels) but will also attach to other animals like rabbits, birds, dogs, cats, deer and even humans. From there, the nymph usually will molt over the winter months and emerge into an adult (about the size of a sesame seed) in the spring, looking for it’s next meal. If one of those animals they first feed on are infected with Lyme Disease (or any of the tick-borne illnesses), the tick will be come infected and will spread the disease to the next animal it feeds on.

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To Find out more about Lyme Disease and how many cases of Lyme are in your area, visit: www.lymediseaseassociation.org