What are ticks?
They are tiny spider-like creatures commonly found in woodland and heathland areas. Unfed ticks may only be the size of a poppy seed. They usually feed on blood from mammals and birds but will occasionally bite humans. Peak times of the year for tick bites are late spring and early summer and in the autumn, but there may be a low level of tick feeding activity during mild weather conditions at other times of the year. Ticks usually take between three and five days to complete their blood meals. Studies of tick populations in the UK have shown that only a small proportion of ticks carry Borrelia burgdorferi, the organism which causes Lyme borreliosis. The risk of transmitting infection from an infected tick is low in the first 24 hours that it is attached, so early removal of the tick greatly reduces the risk of infection.
