On the road with a tick expert "Socks belong over pants in the forest"
Ticks can transmit various serious diseases. Find out how you can protect yourself in our video with tick expert Werner Tischhauser.
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- Ticks can transmit various diseases such as Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE).
- The tick comes from the arachnid family, which means that ticks also have eight legs.
- Their preferred habitats are forest edges, forest paths and hedges of deciduous and mixed forests with lush grasses.
- Ticks are active during the warm seasons.
- Long, light-colored clothing protects against ticks. Pulling your socks over your pants also helps in the fight against ticks when visiting the forest.
It is finally warmer again and a visit to the forest is recommended to cool off. But with the warmth come the ticks again. Below 8 degrees Celsius, the tick goes into a kind of hibernation and is inactive.
The tick comes from the arachnid family. It is therefore obvious that ticks also have eight legs. When fully grown, ticks are between 2.5 and 4.5 millimetres in size and live for an average of three to six years. As they feed on the blood of their host, these arachnids are so-called parasites. A tick that has become fully engorged can reach up to 200 times its body weight.
Ticks prefer habitats on forest edges, forest paths and hedges in deciduous and mixed forests with lush grasses.
What is the best way to protect myself?
If you are planning a visit to the forest, you should know how best to protect yourself against ticks. It is important to stay away from tall grass. Long clothing is recommended. Light-colored clothing in particular has a decisive advantage: you can see the arachnids particularly well.
If you then pull your socks over your pants, it's almost perfect - even if it may not look very fashionable.
In addition, tick repellent should always be applied and you should check yourself thoroughly for ticks at home after a visit to the forest.
Transmittable diseases
Our ticks can transmit various diseases. For example, Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). Lyme borreliosis is caused by a bacterial infection. TBE, on the other hand, is a viral disease that affects the central nervous system. There is no specific antiviral treatment for tick-borne encephalitis - you can be vaccinated, which is not possible for Lyme disease. However, most cases of Lyme disease can be successfully treated with several weeks of antibiotics.
Immigrant giant tick
The giant tick (Hyalomma tick) is particularly widespread in parts of Asia and Africa. However, it is appearing more and more frequently in the Trieste region in northern Italy, which is popular with tourists. It is now also known in Switzerland.
The giant tick is four times the size of the tick species known in this country. When fully engorged, they can reach a body size of around two centimetres and, unlike native tick species, have eyes.
The Hyalomma tick transmits Crimean-Congo fever in comparison to the tick species we are familiar with.