I find ticks to be absolutely terrifying. These little buggers end up embedded in your body without you knowing it, which is disgusting right off the bat. I remember picking them off of me (and my dog) after taking a stroll through the woods when I was a kid. Just a stroll! And not even through high grass or anything!
And if you don’t get them out of your body in time, you run the risk of Lyme disease, which can be an absolute nightmare.
Well, I’m here to tell you it gets even worse. Your typical ticks recognizes you (and any animal) by the carbon dioxide you exhale, and they wait until you walk by their leaf or whatever before they jump on for a ride.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BU2M0McjyM7/
Hyalomma ticks, however, can recognize an animal or a human from up to 30 FEET AWAY, and they will run along the ground to get to a potential host. They also track footstep vibrations and body heat to follow humans and animals.
It gets worse: Hyalomma ticks can and will follow you for 10 minutes or more and will walk up to 325 feet to hunt you down and jump onto your body.
Sounds like a horror movie, doesn’t it?
https://www.instagram.com/p/Byv6aHPgfbx/
Oh, and one more thing: they’re also TWICE AS LARGE as the ticks we’re used to seeing. Hyalomma ticks live mostly in the Mediterranean, but they’ve now been confirmed in Germany, the Netherlands, Hungary, and Russia because they can catch rides on migratory birds. That means THEY’RE SPREADING.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BzgAiDqnZA3/
I guess the only comfort you can take from this is that if you live in the United States, Hyalomma ticks are nothing to worry about…yet.
