3 ms·

Really? Why would they wait so long to start feeding? Seems like a bad evolutionary trait.

• tiskiharja 9y ago
  Actually they start feeding immediately, but the bacteria which causes lyme disease lives in the ticks intestinal system (not all ticks carry the bacteria). After the tick is done feeding (in general approx. 1-2 days but can be longer or shorter), or overfeeds, it can ’vomit’ back into the host and possibly spread the bacteria from its intestines. This is also why you want to be careful when removing the tick and it’s best to use special plyers, and avoid squeezing the ticks body.
  • zodPod 9y ago
    Thank you for this clarification! I had just found some more information as well I had misunderstood what I was reading prior to this!
  • riffraff 9y ago
    thanks, this makes more sense :)
• zodPod 9y ago
  I'm sorry I believe my initial understanding was wrong. The time frame is still correct but I thought it was feeding but after you asked this it made me doubt myself and upon looking it up it's a different reason. They feed immediately but it appears that it is contingent upon when the tick starts having to get rid of excess water. Until the blood meal has started to engorge the tick, though, the organisms are not activated in the tick's gut. So until you see that the tick has actually engorged a slight amount, it's apparently not enough for you to catch disease from the tick. https://www.uptodate.com/contents/what-to-do-after-a-tick-bite-to-prevent-lyme-disease-beyond-the-basics https://www.uptodate.com/contents/what-to-do-after-a-tick-bi... Again, sorry for the incorrect info initially!