quote:Originally posted by Greyflank:What is it about ticks, anyway? They drink your blood until they are full, fall off, and then die. Where does that fit into their life cycle? They have to eat something before they get big enough to bite thru your skin and I know they start off mite sized. Why isn't that enough for the rest of their lives?
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I mean, I understand why a mosquito bites... it's only the female ones and its for fertilizations if I rememember correctly. I know I could look this info up, but I've seen enough ticks this weekend. *nods*
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This Horse Writes
As I understand it your blood is their food. They feed on deer and other mammals too.
I had Lyme disease two years ago and I have no desire to try that again. Here's my question: how can you tell if you have a deer tick? What I've heard is that the bigger ticks, the ones that are easy to see (about the size of a nailhead), don't carry Lyme disease. The deer ticks, which do, supposedly are pinhead-sized. I never saw the tick that gave me Lyme disease - I had something on the back of my knee but I thought it was just a scabby bug bite. How can you tell if you get one of these things?