Description

Ticks, manges and louses are Arachnids from the order of Acarids: All have 8 legs, contrarly to Insects which have 6 (by ex.: fleas.
Sometimes, at larval stage we see only 6 legs, but even in this case the adult wears always 8.

They are very diversified: It exists a big number of genius and species.

All are external parasites and may transmit others parasites, internals, and bacterias and viruses.
As for fleas, wounds induced by their attacks are entry points for bacterias and viruses from the environment, besides of those which pass through their saliva.
They don't induce the same diseases: Some attacks, like fleas, the whole body, others confine in ears, in sebaceous glands (in ears), ...

As for numerous other acarids, some hosts devellop allergies to their presence.
They are very contagious.

Main are:

TICKS

• Rhipicephalus sanguineus: The brown dog's tick (gorged of blood, it becomes white)
  • It change 3 times of host during its life : one for larvas, one for nymphs, one for adults (but a same dog may wear the three stages).
  • Comming from Tropics, it conquered the whole world.
  • It attacks dogs above all, but it is also found on other mammals, and birds.
  • It settles anywhere on skin, adults prefering the ear basis and between paws fingers, larvas and nymphs on top of the back.
  • It transmits: Piroplasmosis or Babesiosis, the Ehrlich hepatitis, the hepathozoonosis, ...
     
• Ixodes spp.: There are many species.
  • As for Rhipicephalus, it changes 3 times of animal during its life.
  • They are anywhere in the world..
  • It attacksmammals, and birds.
  • Their localisation on the animal is depending on the tick specie.
  • They transmit: The Lyme disease, the Piroplasmosis (Babesiosis), ...
     
• Dermacentor spp.
  • They are described for the North America, but are vraissemblably all around the world.
  • They attack men, rodents, dogs, horses, and many others.
  • It dwells everywhere on skin.
  • It transmits: The Lyme disease, the Cat Scratch Disease (Bartonellosis), ...
     

MANGES

• Sarcoptes scabiei: THE mange
  • It is a quite little tick:
        - The female is 0.3 - 0.6 mm long on 0.25 - 0.4 mm wide.
        - The male is a few smaller: 0.2 mm long on 0.15 - 0.2 wide.
  • It conquested the world.
  • It attacks men, others primates, rats, dogs, pigs, goats, horses, cows, rabbits, and numerous others.
  • It is found anywhere on skin, particularly where the skin is thin : ear basis , elbows, back of knees, around eyes and mouth, ...
     
• Demodex spp.: Other manges
  • Demodex are acarids extremely small (1 to 4 tenth of mm), invisibles by eyes, which live in the skin of all animals.
    Their presence is NORMAL, their pullulation is not and induces a disease: the Demodetic Mange.
    It exists quite a Demodex specie by animal, of which man.
    Their presence being normal, recovery consist in reducing their proliferation, which is not easy, the recovery is thus long and difficult to reach.
  • There are thus anywhere on Earth.
  • It places anywhere on skin, cleaning and ventilating it by the galleries they dig.
  • Theur pullulation occurs mainly on pilose follicles (hair roots, hairs) and sebaceous glands (ears).
  • It transmits the demodetic mange ...
     
• Otodectes cynotis: An ears mange
  • It is less than a mm long (0.4 mm).
  • It conquered the world.
  • It attacks dogs, and other canids, cats and other felids.
  • It goes anywhere in ears (auricle and canal).
  • It transmits : otitis, allergies, ...
     
• Notoedres cati: An other ears mange
  • It is less than a mm long (0.4 mm).
  • Described mainly in North America , it has however conquered the world.
  • It attacks rather cats, rabbits, but may contaminate even humans.
  • It is found anywhere in ears, but may settle anywhere else.
     

LOUSES

• Lynxacarus radovski:
  • Toddler, it is less than a mm long (0.2 - 0.5 mm).
  • Anywhere on Earth, in explosion in Singapore.
  • It attacks mainly cats, but infects all fur or hairy animals (even humans).
    It "walks" along the hair, as a train on its railway.
  • It is mainly localized on the torso but may go anywhere else in the fur.

Biology

Acarids have a life in 3 stages : Larvas, Pupas or nymphs, then Adults.
Apart from some ticks which change their host at each stage, all spend their whole life on the same.

Louses and ticks eat blood, manges too, but eat mainly the skin itself.

Each female hatches bilions eggs (1 500 to 4 500 depending on species).

Tick live in forest, on the edge of forests.
It attacks birds, warm blood animals. It detects temperature variations.
It hunts, mainly, by standing on a low branch or a high grass, in order to overhang its victim (heat goes up) and falls when this one is under. It may also, of course, climb an asleep individual.

Once in position, it will deeply bite its host and remains mandibles tighten.

Diseases

By the withdrawed blood they induce anemias which may become fatal.

By their saliva, their evacuations, they induce allergies and paralysis (Flaccid ascendent paralysis, named "Ticks paralysis").

Ears manges induce otitis, other manges, eczemas, dermites.

They are vector of very dangerous diseases:
Piroplamosis (babesiosis), Lyme Disease, Ehrlich hepatitis, Bartonellosis (Cat Scratch Disease), Tularemias, Anaplasmosis, Encephalitis, ...

For more details on diseases transmited to man by acarids, see on the ESCULAPE site of the Institut Pasteur (in French):

LES MALADIES HUMAINES TRANSMISES PAR LES TIQUES

Treatments

Numerous treatments against ticks are available, many are inefficient because ticks resist, have become resistant.
Their effectiveness duration vary from 1 to 3 months according to the brand:

Molecules which are used are numerous : Ivermectin, Amitraz, Dinathion, Dympilate, Lindane, ...
Some are dangerous at high dose, notably for cats, ... and man!
Furthermore they aren't all safe for the Environment.

The best choice will be given to you by a veterinarian.

Packagings:

• Collars: This protection is efficient against ticks, but often needs to be associated with an other. Watch about cats : The collar must include a rubber band, otherwise there is a risk to kill him (see Caring my cat).
   
• Powders: They have the advantage to be scattered anywhere, on the animal as on furnitures and beddings.
  The inconvenience is that it don't remain for long on animals.
   
• Sprays: They have the advantage to be easily sprayed and, so, to save the product, but they frighten cats.
   
• Liquids: It is a quite recent packaging. It is a kind of blister containing a product in little quantity which is opened and put on the back of the animal's neck (to prevent any lick: It is toxic).

WARNING: To remove a tick:

If you try to remove an alive tick, it will prefer to be decapitated rather than to let go,
its head then remains in place and decays in the wound.

To remove a tick, there is first to kill it or pull it to sleep (oil, nail polish, alcohol, ether) : otherwise the head keeps still, the wound is longer to recover and by this wound diseases and parasits may come in.

You may buy ticks pliers which are useful to unhook ticks with their head. It is an effcient and cheap tool. Ask your veterinarian.

Last, for each removed tick, the tick salive is still there, thus there is to disinfect each bite (Mercryl, Betadin, or other).

An excellent synthesis on fleas and ticks is available,
in English only, (and I haven't the courage to translate) under the title
 
Fleas and Ticks
 
on the 'k9web.com' site (read 'canine web dot com').