A Fun Way to

Learn about Ticks;

Carriers of
Lyme Disease

Written by Jenny O'Dea – co-founder of Tick Talk Ireland

Illustrated by Dave Farrelly

 Foreword
My name is Jenny & I have Lyme disease. I like to learn
all I can about the disease, to help warn others. In 2009 I
set up a new group called Tick Talk Ireland.

I recently completed a story called 'The Adventures of

Luna & Dips'. This book aims to teach children and
parents about ticks, the carriers of Lyme disease. I feel
that prevention is better than cure and awareness is key
to help minimise the risk of tick-borne diseases! I hope
you enjoy the book; you will see tips along the way to
help you learn about ticks and Lyme disease.

I would like to thank all our donors and the following

people, who helped us to bring the book to our readers:

Proof readers Ann Dea Hogan and Danny Treacy (aged

9); images from Dr Keith Ryan, Dartmoor Tick Watch
(UK); art work from Dave Farrelly, plus input from Fiona
O’Kelly, Horizon Montessori School and Sean O’Dea.

Facts in this article come courtesy of the website:

‘How Ticks Work’

http://animals.howstuffworks.com/arachnids/tick.htm

(Copyright © Jenny O’Dea 2013)

 Contents Page

Chapter One – Luna the larval tick gets some advice from
Dips (tick) in learning to quest for food.

Chapter Two – Luna (tick) manages to find her first host, a

mouse, & is well on her way in her quest to grow.

Chapter Three - Luna gets the scare of her life, the poor
mouse is being chased by a fox, but will she survive?

Chapter Four - Having survived her first scary adventure,

Luna finds a cosy place to moult into a nymph.

Chapter Five – It is autumn when Luna wakes up &

everything has changed. She feels all alone in the world &
remembers the kind words of her new friend Fantaz (tick).

Chapter Six – Luna snuggles down for the winter & emerges
in spring hungry for a new feed, will this be her chance?

Chapter Seven – Luna was lucky enough to find a new host,

she dreams of becoming an adult, but could her dreams
come true?

Chapter Eight - Luna feels very happy with herself, she drops
off her 2nd host & looks forward to being an adult, but wait,
trouble is ahead!
 Chapter One
“My name is Luna – I live by the second tree
I live round the corner from you
Guess you ought to watch out for me!”

I am a very small larval tick, the size of a freckle and my

name is Luna. I come from a very large family of 2,000
brothers and sisters, born under a leaf in the forest. We
all scattered in different directions as we hatched out, to
avoid being eaten by birds, so I do feel quite lonely. I am
very lucky though, I have a kind friend called Dips (tick).
Despite his name he is very clever and tells me lots of
useful things.

One day I was very sad as I couldn’t find my mother.

Dips sat me down next to him on a twig and told me
gently that my mother died after laying all her eggs. To
protect us from drying out she made sure our eggs were
coated with wax, so we were all safe. It made me feel
better knowing that she was looking out for us – thanks
Mum!
The other day I saw an insect. It had six legs like me
(Dips said only older ticks can have eight legs and I’m still
a baby). I watched the insect with great interest as it
sniffed around the plants and then I heard a buzzing
sound.

It started to hover in the air and then flitted off up to the

sky. I was dead impressed – wow, let me try! I crawled
to the end of a blade of glass, made a buzzing noise with
my mouth and leapt in the air – wagh that hurt! I fell
before I hit the ground and bent my mandible.*

Dips came running to my side. He explained that I will

never have wings. At my young age of being a larva I
only have six legs, but that doesn’t make me an insect.

In fact I’m related to the spider family and they don’t fly.
I wish he’d told me that before!

*Insects have mandibles; the jaw like mouth part in a

tick is called Chelicerae (ke-liss-er-ee).
A few days later my mandible [jaw like pincer] had
straightened again. I said to my new friend that I started
to feel hungry. I have not fed since I hatched from a tiny
egg. Dips told me not to worry – a larval tick can go for
several months without a meal. At my young age I have
to practice crawling up blades of grass and adopt a
‘questing’ position.

“Questing – what is that,” I asked? He’s so clever I

thought. Dips sat me on a branch in the shade, to
prevent me from drying out while we chatted.

“Questing,” he says, “is where the tick climbs up to the

top of a blade of grass or undergrowth. Here they
balance waiting for an animal to pass by. That animal is
then the host.”

“It takes practice to get the questing position just right,”

he said. “One gust of wind and you’re over the edge and
you have to start again.”
Sometimes, the animal will be an inch too far out of the
way – without wings we are unable to fly and we don’t
have the powerful jumping abilities of fleas so they’re
just beyond our reach. That’s why it takes practice to get
it right.

I told my friend that I will practice hard – I don’t want to

wait months before getting some food! I asked Dips
what happened to all my brothers and sisters that were
born. He said, “Luna you are too young to know. That
will be told later.

“Meanwhile stay close to me and practice your climbing

skills. And don’t forget, no more flying!”

I giggled and said, “OK, I’ll try!”

 Chapter Two
“I get knocked down, but I get up again
You’re never going to keep me down.”*

I remember Dips telling me that I needed to practice my

‘questing’ position which will help me to latch onto my
host. I think what I’ll do is to watch others, I just keeping
falling off!

It was very hot the last few days and I got tired out in the
sun, so I’ve been keeping cover under a bit of bracken.
Soon I really must try and get some food. Maybe I was
right to hide in the shade – it keeps me away from
predators and builds up my strength.

Now I really must get out into the world and have a nice
feast. ‘Where is my friend Dips,’ I thought? I felt SO
scared. Dips WHERE are you?

*from the song “I get knocked down” by Chumbawamba

I was having a nice snooze when there was a thud right
behind me. “Hey Luna,” a voice called out. “Oh Dips,
where have you been, I’ve been so lost and lonely?”

Dips told me that as he’s older than me, he has already

gone off to start feeding. He is now growing into an
adult and will soon be ready to breed. I was really glad
to see him again.

We sat together on a patch of grass, under the shade of

a tree and talked until the sun went down. He thinks I
am ready now to learn about my brothers and sisters.
Dips told me that my siblings would have scattered in
many directions. At such a young age they can be eaten
by predators feeding in the undergrowth; birds, ants,
rodents, that sort of thing.

Many baby ticks desiccate [dry out] in the sun – ticks

should stay in tall grass and patches of leaves to keep
moist, he told me. They should only perch on the edges
of grasses when ready to find a host to feed on, or when
ready to practice questing.
‘My time has come for that first great leap,’ I thought –
‘I’m starving.’ I told him that I kept falling off and
climbing and falling off again and he laughed at me.
“That’s fine, practice makes perfect. Now you can move
forward and see the world.”

The next day, feeling stronger and more resolute, I felt

very brave and crawled to the end of some grass. I
detected a warm animal coming close by – I could sense
the carbon dioxide.

I climbed up the blade of grass and as I stood, a mouse

brushed straight past me. In my hunger I scrambled
onto the mouse’s back with great bravado and yelled
back to Dips, “I made it, wish me luck, good friend.”
“Good luck Luna!” Dips sat down on a branch, looking
tired from his previous meal. My adventure was about
to begin, it seemed strange moving away from my little
spot by the tree, a stone wall and some grass. Where I
was going was at the whim of the mouse!

Dips told me that many larval ticks will die from drying
out, starvation or from predators, so I needed to act fast.
I heard a chorus of voices yell, “Quick, this way.”

I scrambled up to the top of the mouse’s head and

settled in with some other ticks in a warm snug place –
‘ahh bliss,’ I thought, ‘my journey has finally begun!’

I started to hum to myself: “I get knocked down, but I get

up again, you are never gonna keep me down…….!”
 Chapter Three
“A mouse with paws so small and light
She scurries on all through the night
In hot pursuit a hungry fox
And clinging on was Luna
Could she last another day
Or be eaten sooner?”

I’m so glad I found my first feed – it is a mouse and she

moves very fast. I’ll have to cling on for dear life. I look
back to see my friend Dips, fading further and further
into the distance – it’s very sad to think I may never see
him again. ‘This is my turn now,’ I thought to myself. ‘I
have to learn; to grow big and strong and become a
mother to more children – that is my destiny, I cannot
fail!’

Hmm, but what to do, I feel all alone. I glance all around
me and saw bottoms pointing in the air, some have legs
and black or reddish-brown bodies and some are much
larger, wrinkly and slimy looking. Ooh, they do look
strange; I hope I don’t become one of those!
Suddenly, the mouse began to hurry even faster. I
looked around and a giant four legged animal was
coming straight towards us, with teeth snarling.

Trees and bushes shot past and the wind whistled all
around me. I was so scared and hurried to the mouse’s
ears. It felt so comfortable and warming – I quickly
nuzzled my head in and began to get a good grip.

Aha, this feels so right. I felt rather proud of my little

legs – the tiny hairs and small hooks on the end, helped
me to cling on real tight. What a clever design from
Mother Nature! I started to bury my head into the
mouse’s ear – it felt so right – at last, I’m growing up!

The narrator continues Luna’s story – she is rather busy

feeding and can’t talk right now! As she buries her head
into the mouse’s ear, the two outer parts of her mouth
called pedipalps are spread outwards, allowing her to
insert the inner cutting parts called the chelicerae (ke-
liss-er-ee) into the skin.
In the centre of the mouth lies a barbed* like object
called the hypostome [hy-po-stow-m]. This allows Luna
to keep a steady hold while she is feeding.

Whilst feeding, Luna releases a cement type substance

with her saliva for extra grip and injects a numbing agent
into the skin, making it hard for the host to detect her
presence. The tick’s saliva prevents the blood from
clotting while it is being lapped up – yum, tasty!

Luna is totally unaware that during her feed she may be

infected by anything from parasites, to viruses, to
bacteria. The poor mouse has no idea either; its main
concern is to not be eaten by a fox! Male ticks don’t
expand as much as females during feeding, as they have
a harder outer skin called a scutum [skew-tum] covering
much of their backs. Females however need to swell up
with more blood to help them when they lay their eggs.

*NB: Tick twisters are useful tools to remove ticks - the

twisting motion helps to loosen the barbs grip!
Will Luna be able to finish feeding before the mouse gets
eaten by the fox? Will she turn into one of those
horrible wrinkly looking things she saw earlier? And will
she ever see Dips again?

A larval tick like Luna is less than a millimetre in size. If

you have a ruler, take a look to see how small she can be.

When Luna grows bigger she will turn into a nymph.

Nymphs are less than 1.5 mm, about the size of a poppy
seed.

Ticks grow into each life stage only if they can find a host
to feed on. An adult tick will be 2-3 mm in length (about
the size of a sesame seed). They are very flat and cannot
jump or fly as they are part of the spiders and mites
family. When they feed they begin to expand like a raisin
as they fill with the host’s blood.

How big is Luna at this stage in her journey? She is the

size of the full stop at the end of this sentence.
 Chapter Four
“Do ticks have a heart
That’s a very good thought
I’m sure you’ll agree
It’s so hard to see!”

The mouse she runs and runs and the streaming blood is
going to my head! Still, the poor mouse needs to run,
that large growling creature behind her was catching us
up fast. I had to hold on so tight; thank goodness that
my mouth parts were well anchored in – there was no
way I was going to fall off!

Eventually everything went dark and quiet and I could

feel the mouse’s heart beat start to slow. It got me
thinking – do ticks have hearts? I mean, we seem so
different to other animals. Dips told me that when other
animals breathe they use their mouth parts but I was
scared and asked, how would we breathe if we need our
mouth parts to feed? We could be there for days!
Dips said we have special breathing holes* just below
our legs. We really are clever. But do we have hearts?

I’m sure I feel really full now. I think I’ve been feeding
for days. The mouse dashed through the grass and
leaves and I found myself loosen my grip. I fell and
bounced off the mouse’s nose, landing with a thud.

I looked down and shuddered. Eugh, I look gross, I’ve

expanded so much I can hardly walk! Dips told me that
when I feed I must go and hide. That way I can moult
[shed my skin] and grow up to be a nymph – a nymph, I
like the sound of that. I get to have eight legs and I can
go and find more food.

*The breathing holes called spiracles [spi-ra-calls] can

be found on each side of the body below the base of
the legs.
I looked around and saw a beautiful stealth like figure
walking towards me. Wow, she is beautiful – I want to
look just like her. So slim and slender and looking so
sleek. “Who are you?” I asked. “I am Fantaz (tick)
what’s your name?” “My name is Luna, I live by the
second tree. I’m a bit lost now and I need to find my
friend Dips.”

“Ah yes, Dips asked me to look for you. You haven’t

gone far – the mouse lived near here and she was lucky
to escape the fox. It seems you were feeding a few days
but now you should rest. That way you can move on to
your next stage.”

“Will I look like you?” I asked, looking up at her and

feeling very aware of my rather blood engorged* self.

* Ticks are very flat but as they feed they begin to puff
up like a raisin from the blood of the host, another
name for this is engorged.
“Oh yes Luna – I have moulted and am ready to continue
on with my journey. Rest now little one and you will be
ready to see more of the world. When you wake up* try
to aim higher in your questing. You will need to find a
larger animal for your next feed.”

Luna didn’t need persuading – she felt so tired and really

happy that the mouse managed to stay safe from that
nasty creature who chased her. A fox, Fantaz said it was
– I wonder if foxes eat ticks too. I’ll need to stay well
hidden just in case.

I found a nice dark corner, in the root of a fallen tree,

pulled a leaf over me and began my lovely sleep. ‘I
wonder what Dips is doing now,’ I thought to myself. I
couldn’t help smiling to myself – ‘I’m going to look
fantastic, just like Fantaz – I can’t wait!! ‘

*When Luna wakes up she will be transformed into a

nymph – about the size of a poppy seed!
 Chapter Five
“Rest now little one and soon you will be ready
to see more of the world.”

I began to open my eyes and noticed a slight chill in the

air. All around was golden and yet the trees were bare.
Dead, crunchy leaves lay on the ground. Animals trotted
by in a hurry, with puffs of smoke billowing through the
air. ‘Where am I,’ I thought to myself. ‘Why is
everything so different?’

I tried to remember my last conversation. That’s right; I

saw this gorgeous looking figure, she said her name was
Fantaz. She said that one day after I shed my skin, I
would look just like her.

I looked down and felt along my legs. ‘Hold on,’ I

thought, ‘before I had six legs, and now I have eight.’

My friend Dips told me that babies (larval ticks he called

them) have only six legs, so I must be growing up, at last.
That’s so cool, now my new adventure can begin!
I looked around me and felt in awe of the beauty of my
surroundings– the ground was shiny and looked as
though it glistened.

Insects and ticks were moving around under the leaves;

animals would rush by to get into the warmth of their
dens. “Hey, why is it so different?” I asked a passing
male.

“Well Luna, you rested for several months after your last
blood meal. You have now transformed into a nymph
and will soon be ready to start searching for your next
host.

“The seasons have changed Luna. We have started to

get ready for winter to begin. The ground is frosty. To
keep safe and warm we need to hide among leaves or
find a nice furry animal to feed on.”
‘Ah yes,’ remembered Luna – ‘Fantaz said to me that I
needed to rest and when I awaken I would need to aim
higher in my questing. There I will find a larger animal to
feed from and continue my quest. But what is my
quest?’ I thought to myself aloud.

“Well Luna”, said the passing male, “your quest is to

become an adult where you can breed and pass on life to
your new family. But act safely dear one, there are many
perils in the tick world, birds may eat you and you must
compete for a blood meal amongst other hungry ticks.

“Much work and practice must be done. My advice to

you is to lie low and once a warm day arrives, when the
sun shines low in the sky and the frost begins to thaw,
the animals will become more active. Then you can
climb higher and latch onto a warm host as it brushes
past. Good luck Luna, good luck!”
The male tick scampered away leaving me all on my own.
‘I feel so lonely in this world,’ I thought to myself. ‘But
soon I could become a mum, and that would make me so
proud. Meanwhile I MUST get used to my eight legs –
they do take some getting used to!’

Luna is now a nymph tick about 1.5 mm in size (about the

size of a poppy seed). She can survive a while before her
next feed and the cold snap will slow her down but not
kill her. She will soon be on her way to the next part of
her quest…

The younger ticks prefer smaller birds and animals – they

feed on blackbirds, thrushes, squirrels, rabbits or mice.
As they grow older they seek deer and farm animals.
Pets and humans can be bitten too which can pass along
an infection such as Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection which can be serious

causing joint pain, muscle aches and extreme fatigue.
 Chapter Six
“Sitting on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away”*

I haven’t been doing much lately; it was too cold to be

out in the open, so I stayed well hidden among leaves.
One day fluffy white balls fell from the sky. I couldn’t
understand it, was the sky falling? What did it all mean?

I heard children running past saying ‘it’s snowing, it’s

snowing, let’s build a snowman!’ I felt a blanket of
warmth when a layer built up around me, so I settled
down in my snowy, leaf laden bunker and waited for the
warm days to begin.

I remember Fantaz telling me, “My advice to you is to lie

low and once a warm day arrives, when the sun shines
low in the sky and the frost begins to thaw, the animals
will be more active. Then you can climb higher and latch
onto a warm blooded host as it brushes past.”

*from the song “Sitting on the dock of the bay” by Otis Reading
Small flowers were beginning to push their way through
the dark soggy leaves of winter and I could feel a sense
of new life in the air. ‘Time to wake up and look for my
next host,’ I thought.

I crawled around to get my bearings and looked across at

a shimmering pool of water. I could see animals take a
drink there, with steamy heat coming from their bodies,
rising through the cool spring air.

Wow, this is beautiful; I could see reflections of trees in

the water. I clambered up a long blade of grass and tried
to climb higher still. Fantaz said I should find a larger
host for my next blood meal and taller grasses will help
me find them.

As I clambered up my weak legs after the winter sleep

caused me to fall, oh no, I was heading straight for the
water. ‘This is not good,’ I thought to myself, ‘this is soo
not good.’
My little legs made it hard to get back to the side and a
gust of wind caused a tide to wash me away. ‘This is the
end,’ I thought to myself, no more Luna!’ Luckily my slim
body allowed me to float and I drifted for quite some
time until I nodded off to sleep.

Suddenly I was woken by a big splash. I looked up and

saw a man throwing sticks into the water. ‘Why is that?’
I thought to myself. A yellowy coloured dog then leapt
in after the stick and paddled its way back to shore. As
he leapt in I was pushed by a wave to the edge of the
water amongst the reeds. The dog leapt in again yapping
wildly. He found the stick and paddled back to shore.

This time I managed to grasp hold of his fur and with my

tiny hooks on the end of my legs I grabbed on hard. The
dog reached the owner and shook himself hard to
release the water, but I buried myself under his collar to
stay safe.
Phew! I think I made it. My little trip into the water
brought me to my very next host. I may just stay here a
while!

Ticks tend to hide away during cold winter months. They

become more active in spring and early summer as well
as in the autumn time.

Ticks may carry bacteria called Lyme disease and is

passed on during a blood meal. If a tick bites you be sure
to remove it straight away to avoid infection. If you feel
ill following a tick bite or notice a rash in the shape of
rings (known as a bull’s-eye rash) let a doctor know so
you can be treated immediately.

Luna spent the winter lying low so she is now ready to

feed. Her next quest is to become an adult tick. Will she
make it or will the dog’s owner spot her first?

*Please note - not all ticks will carry Lyme disease!

 Chapter Seven
“I’m still standing, yeah, yeah, yeah!”*

My new host is wet through. We’d both been for a

swim, except in my case I hadn’t really planned to be
there, I fell in whilst looking for a new host!

My luck turned and a passing animal came into the water

to play and now here I am, taking cover underneath his
soggy collar. Phew, that was a chance visit!

Quite a fast ride this new beast is, with yellowy fur and
golden ears. He gallops this way and that, chasing sticks
and rushing up to his owner at super speed. If I didn’t
have little hooked legs I’d be a goner, as I hadn’t had
chance to stick my mouth parts into his warm, cosy flesh.

*from the song “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John

My friend Dips said the best way was to wait for the host
to be quiet and then crawl around to find a warm spot to
feed. Ears are a firm favourite so I’m told!

I hid under the collar for now just to hold on; those
floppy ears flapping in the wind – ‘yum, my next meal,’ I
thought to myself. My food of choice is blood, it keeps
me alive, helps me to grow into my next life stage and
stops me from drying out – a three for one deal!

My host took a long time to become tired and I was

weary too, with clinging on for dear life. Eventually my
new host and his 2 legged friend went into a large box. I
would often look over at the large box wondering what it
was; maybe this was where the 2 legged people live?

‘Why don’t they live in the trees and grass like we do?’ I
thought to myself. Then I realised the answer. Inside
was so warm; a crackling noise was coming from one
side of the wall and my doggy friend, I was clinging onto,
sat down in front of it. Red and orange flames came out
of a wood pile. The dog settled in for a snooze and I was
eager for my work to begin.
Using a cutting tool (hypostome) I began to cut my way
into the fleshy ear. It was still a bit wet from our
adventure in the pond! As I buried into the flesh I could
feel the blood collecting in a nice pool.

My anti-clotting* chemicals ensured the blood would

keep flowing, so I knew I had all the time in the world.
My main task right now was to get settled and held in
place while the host was sleeping.

As I clung on I was able to make a substance to help me

glue my head into place and folded back my pedipalps to
help me anchor into place. I chose a spot under the ear
to get more blood and stay safe from anyone seeing me.

‘Right that’s me set,’ I thought to myself. ‘Think I need a

rest myself!’

*Ticks have chemicals in their salivary glands which

stops the blood from clotting. They can feed for several
days. A cement type mixture is produced just under the
skin to help them stay in place for a long time.
I don’t know how long it was but the dog started to wake
and get restless. He kept pacing up and down by a shiny
bowl. ‘What’s that?’ I thought, ‘it’s empty, why stare
into an empty bowl? These animals are so weird!’

The story mentions a feeding spot of behind the dog’s ear

where it’s warm and blood rich. Be sure to check behind
your ears, under the hair and back of the knee to make
sure no ticks are hiding!

So Luna finally gets her just reward. With this feed she
can make into adulthood. She knows that her chances of
mating, and laying eggs depends on her ability to feed.

With each meal she is able to moult and move onto the
next life stage. But will she complete her meal or will the
dog’s owner find her? Does he have the tweezers ready?

Stay tuned to find out more!

 Chapter Eight
My warm shaggy host is perfect for me. Those long ears
allow me to stay well hidden; I haven’t been spotted at
all and I’ve been able to get a good meal.

Over several days I seem to be stretching bigger and

bigger, gorging myself on the warm tasty blood. Yum,
this is exactly what I need to help me grow strong and
soon I will reach my quest.

‘This is my destiny, I can drop off now and go and hide

and when I emerge I shall be an adult,’ I thought to
myself. ‘What an amazing feeling that will be.’

I remembered back at my adventure so far, the scary

ride on top of a mouse, in hot pursuit a hungry fox; my
fall into the water and my lucky find, a swimming dog
who managed to save me, and here he is giving me my
feed - what luck had befallen me.

I remember my friend Dips telling me that not many ticks

survive. 2,000 eggs may hatch but not many will reach
adulthood, so I’m feeling really content with myself.
With that thought I wriggled myself loose from the
shaggy dog’s ear and dropped to the ground. It was
strange the ground, not grassy or woody, no flowers or
twigs or water, just some shaggy *fur, a bit like my host.

I remembered that my host brought me into a big box

where the 2 legged people live. ‘They line their boxes
with fur?’ I thought. ‘How strange!’

I began to feel very sleepy, I knew that I could only reach

adulthood after a moult and to moult I MUST find a safe
place to hide. It was very scary being in this fur lined
world I was not used to, I wasn’t really sure which way to
turn.

Just then I heard a shrill scream, ear piercing it was (and I

don’t have ears!). A 2 legged human, quite short with
freckly skin ran over to me and pointed, she was
screaming and crying ‘mummy, mummy.’ I couldn’t run
as I was so bloated from my host’s blood.

‘Oh what to do,’ I thought to myself. I felt powerless,

unable to move, unable to think. I found myself rising
high into the air, something or someone got a hold of me
and placed me into a clear case and sealed the opening.

‘OK, this isn’t right,’ I thought to myself, ‘how can I get to

my next host in here? Where did all the grass and trees
go?’ I could hear muffled voices but had no clue what
was being said. It was then I felt sad, I realised that my
journey had ended, without a new host I was never
going to reach adulthood.

I thought back to my friends Fantaz and Dips and how

they helped me on my journey, on my quest. I
wondered what they were doing now. Maybe they were
lucky and reach adulthood, I do hope so.

The girl who spotted Luna lying on the rug (*Luna

thought this was fur!) called her mum in quick. Her
mum put the engorged tick safely into a clear plastic
bag and kept an eye on the dog in case of any new
symptoms (such as lameness). Thankfully Luna was
disease free and the dog suffered no ills from the bite.
If Luna’s first host, the mouse, was infected with Lyme
disease or any other tick-borne disease, she would have
been able to pass this onto the dog during her feed.

Mice, birds, hedgehogs and squirrels can all carry Lyme

disease as well as the larger hosts such as cattle, sheep,
horses and deer.

Humans and pets can also be hosts as the ticks savour

warm blood and aren’t too fussy!

Remember, if you see a tick on you ask a parent, carer or

teacher to remove it and keep an eye out for symptoms
such as feeling achy or a rash in red circles.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A final word from the author – ticks cannot write, see,

speak or hear - this whole story was a figment of Jenny
O’Dea’s imagination and at no point was any animal
harmed in the making of this story ;)

THE END!
 Tick Life Cycle showing larva, nymph and adult

Scale marks on the left and bottom edges are 1 mm divisions

Image supplied by Dr Keith Ryan – Dartmoor Tick Watch

Key to the images

larva (unfed, 0.75
mm) male (unfed, 2.1
mm)
nymph (unfed, 1.34
female (engorged, 8.72 mm)
mm)
female (unfed, 3.2
nymph (engorged, mm)
3.6 mm)

Note how the tick begins to expand and change colour

after they have been feeding. They take a few days to
get full of blood before dropping to the ground.
 Glossary

Bull’s-eye rash: An expanding red rash appearing in rings,

like rings on a dartboard. The rash may appear several
days or several weeks after a tick bite. This is a clear sign
you have been infected with Lyme disease.

Lyme disease: also known as borreliosis [bor·re·li·o·sis] is

a bacterial infection caused by a spiral shaped bacteria
called borrelia. Lyme disease is spread by ticks.

Ticks: There are many different types of ticks worldwide,

but the one spreading Lyme disease in Europe is known
as the Sheep Tick or Castor Bean Tick.

Ticks have three life stages – larval, nymph & adult.

They are very small ranging from less than a 1mm (larva)
to 3mm (adult female). They are very flat like paper. As
ticks feed they grow much larger & puff out like a raisin.

Ticks are related to spiders & mites. Larvae have six legs.
Nymphs and Adults have eight legs. They have breathing
holes near their back legs called spiracles.

These holes allow them to breathe whilst feeding on the

host’s blood. They can stay feeding for several days.
 Tips on protection

*Avoid tall grasses, leaf litter & boggy pasture where

ticks may reside.

*Tuck trousers into socks – it can help prevent ticks

crawling up under your clothes. Wear a tick repellent
suitable for children.

*Check your body after playing outside and tell a parent,

carer or school teacher the minute you find a tick on you.

*If a tick is attached to you, remove the tick quickly but

gently to avoid leaving mouth parts behind. Fine tipped
tweezers held close to the skin or a tick removal tool
(called a tick twister) is also recommended. Do NOT
squeeze the tick or touch it with your fingers.

* Put the tick in a sealable plastic container to show the

doctor if you do become ill.

*Make a note on the calendar the date you were bitten.

*Tell the doctor if you see any type of rash, or begin to

feel unwell after a tick bite. It may take several days or
weeks for symptoms to develop. Symptoms may include
feeling achy, joint pains and extreme tiredness.