• Pests in House and Home
  • Bedbugs – Bites, Stings and Itches
  • Food Pests
  • DPIL

Pestium.uk

Europe's largest scientific bug site

Danish flagUnion JackNorwedish flagSwedish flagGerman flag
You are here: Home / Bedbugs – Bites, Stings and Itches / Ticks / The castor bean tick / The castor bean tick bite

The castor bean tick bite

You do not notice the tick piercing its mouthparts into the skin. This is due to anesthetics in the saliva. Most people do not notice the sucking ticks until they accidentally spot it or feel it with their fingers. The sucking larvae are even more difficult to spot.

Usually, people are attacked by several ticks simultaneously. They are seen as the dark dots on the skin. The skin around the bite is slightly red. The diagnosis is made by removing the ticks with a needle and examining them under a microscope. It takes one day to several days before the tick starts spitting and sucking, so the sooner you discover the tick and removes it, the smaller the risk of complications.

There may be itching on and around the site of the bite after the tick has been sucking for some time. Exceptionally, tick bites have unpleasant consequences.

Local infection. Inflammation of the bite wound may occur, but if the tick is removed and if it is not. It can be in the form of dermatitis or boils that require treatment of the bite – perhaps supplemented with antibiotics. To some extent, you can prevent this by cleaning the wound with soap, alcohol, etc.

Virus infection. On the Danish islands of Bornholm and Zealand, the castor bean tick transmits tick-borne encephalitis of which there two sub-types in Denmark: The European encephalitis virus and the Far-Eastern tick-borne encephalitis virus. They can cause meningitis-like illness that particularly affects people who reside in forest areas. The disease is caused by a virus and can not be cured with antibiotics. The course of the disease is usually mild and patients fully recover. If you have to work a lot in tick infested areas, it is possible to get a vaccine against these viruses.

Spirochete infection. In Denmark, some ticks transmit a bacterium of the genus Borrelia to humans through their bites. The adult female tick infects its eggs with the bacterium. Therefore, the small larvae can also be carriers, even though they have never sucked blood. The course of the disease is very different from case to case.

One sign that you have been infected, may be an annular erythema, which appears 1-2 weeks after the bite. The bite spot is in center of the annular erythema that slowly spreads. Later, due to flu-like symptoms and pain, patients may experience paralysis of the nerves of the face and elsewhere. In the early stages, the infection is fought with conventional doses of antibiotics. If there are nervous symptoms, high doses of antibiotics are given to the patient.

If you have been bitten by a castor bean tick and have alarming symptoms which the doctor cannot (with certainty) link to any common diseases, it is important to mention that you were bitten by a castor bean tick, in order for the spirochete infection to come into consideration.

Tick paralysis. In the tick saliva there is a neurotoxin with curare-like effects. In some cases, it is released it in such large quantities that the animal or human, on which the tick is sucking, may be paralyzed. The paralysis starts in the legs and spreads upwards. The rare phenomenon is called tick paralysis. Removal of the embedded tick usually results in resolution of symptoms.

  • About
  • Latest Posts
Henri Mourier
Biologist at Statens Skadedyrslaboratorium
Author of:
"Pests in House and Home"
"Bed Bugs - Bites, Stings and Itches"
"Food Pests"
"Husets dyreliv" (Insects Around the House - Only danish)
"Skadedyr i træ" (Timber Pests - Only danish)
"Stuefluen" (Common Housefly - Only danish)
Latest posts by Henri Mourier (see all)
    Bedbugs – Bites, Stings and Itches
    Introduction
    Unease about small animals
    Frequency
    Where?
    The active substances, venom, poison and saliva
    Symptoms
    Dealing with the problem
    Bed bugs
    Where does it come from?
    A bit of history
    How do they look?
    Food consumption
    Disease transmission
    Can you recognize a bed bug bite?
    Mating
    Egg-laying
    Development of adult bed bugs
    Temperature dependence
    Bed bugs stick together
    How do you get bed bugs?
    Prevention
    Pesticides and methods
    Physical methods
    Who will take care of the problem.
    Lice
    The head louse
    Occurrence
    Life cycle
    Lice bites
    Suspicion of head lice
    Detection
    Spreading of head lice
    Lice control
    Collective lice control
    The body louse
    The crab louse
    Biology
    Occurrence
    Crab louse bites
    Spreading of crab lice
    Detection
    Control
    Lice in dogs
    Lice in cats
    Thrips
    Life cycle
    Bites and irritation
    Prevention and eradication
    Bugs
    Bed bugs in animals
    The masked hunter
    The debris bug
    The common flower bug
    Water bugs
    Butterflies and beetles
    Butterflies
    Butterfly scales
    Butterfly larvae hair
    Beetles
    Larder beetle larvae hairs.
    Mosquitoes and flies
    Mosquitoes
    Life cycle
    Mosquito bites
    Transmission of disease
    Control
    Prevention and protection
    Biting midges
    Bites
    Prevention and control
    Black flies
    Life cycle
    Black fly bites
    Prevention and control
    The stable fly
    Life cycle
    Stable fly bites
    Control
    Horse-flies
    Horse-fly bites
    Life cycle
    Prevention and control
    Louse flies
    Life cycle
    Prevention and control
    Bees, wasps and ants
    The honey bee
    Life cycle
    Bee stings
    Prevention and control
    Bumblebees
    Bumblebee stings
    Control
    Solitary bees
    Hornets (actual wasps)
    Life cycle
    Hornet stings
    Prevention
    Control
    Other wasps
    Ants
    Fleas
    The adult flea
    Eggs and larvae
    Flea bites
    General treatment
    Many kinds of fleas
    Human fleas
    Hedgehog fleas
    Bird fleas
    Bird flea control
    Dog fleas and cat fleas
    Cat flea biology
    Cat fleas bite people
    Flea bite allergies
    Detection
    Control
    Control on the host animal
    Flea control in the surrounding environment
    Prevention of dog- and cat fleas
    Ticks
    The castor bean tick
    Life cycle
    Biting locations
    The castor bean tick bite
    Tick removal
    Detection
    Control
    Prevention
    The brown dog tick
    Life cycle
    Suspected brown dog tick infestation
    Brown dog tick control
    The european pigeon tick
    Biology
    Detection
    European pigeon tick bites
    If the European pigeon ticks are not controlled
    Control
    Small mites
    Itch mites
    Appearance
    Biology
    Symptoms
    Process
    Mode of transmission between humans
    Control
    Scabies from animals
    Scabies in animals
    Follicle mites
    Follicle mites in humans
    The canine follicle mite
    Ear mites
    Ear mites on dogs
    The canine nasal mite
    Fur mites
    Three kinds of fur mites
    Life cycle
    Fur mite bites
    People’s reaction to the bite
    Host animal’s reactions to the bite
    Infection and the spreading between animals
    Detection
    Control
    Prevention
    Water mites
    An unusual family
    Bird mites
    Biology
    Control
    The harvest mite
    Occurrence
    Life cycle
    Trombiculosis
    Control
    House dust mites
    Storage mites
    Other animals
    Stinging jellyfish
    Cercariae
    Leeches
    Centipedes
    Scorpions
    Spiders
    Tarantulas
    Greater weevers
    The european adder
    Animals that do not exist
    Suspected delusional parasitosis
    What to do
    Possibilities of confusion
    Ectoparasites
    Index

    Copyright © 2023 · The publisher Pestium Inc. · Europe's largest knowledge database on pests.
    Copying and reproduction without permission is prosecuted without prior notice