Yes, there are ticks in Miramichi. There are ticks in all of Canada.
What is a tick?
A tick is a small parasitic arthropod, usually found on one of their six pairs of legs. Most ticks are active only during the warm months of spring, summer and early fall. They are mainly herbivores (herbivorous – to eat leaves/herbs) but some tick species are omnivores (meat-eating).
They may get killed by the winter frost, but most adult ticks survive this by taking shelter in protected places such as inside wood or leaf litter.
Where do they live?
Most ticks in New Brunswick live in areas where there are high leaf litter levels.
Unlike the mosquitos, flies, and other insects found in Canada, ticks are not found in very clear areas such as swamps or other open meadows.
How do you know if you have been bitten by a tick?
A tick has a mouth part called the proboscis that is used to pierce your skin to get a blood meal.
The female tick will often spin her legs together over her body before inserting the proboscis into your skin. Tick bites can be quite painful.
Do all ticks carry diseases like Lyme disease and other illness?
Some tick species do carry certain diseases like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis (a form of encephalitis) or babesiosis.
What can you do if a tick has bitten me or on my clothes, what should I look for?
It is very important to remember that it is not always easy to determine whether a tick has attached itself to you.
Often a tick will attach itself to you and feed for up to 7 days before being flushed out of the skin with the next feeding. For this reason, it is important to check yourself for ticks daily.
If you or your clothing have come into contact with a tick, it is critical that you keep that clothing.
In cases where the tick is still attached to your skin, it would be best to remove the tick as quickly as possible.
