Pigeon tick
Argas reflexus
The pigeon tick is a soft tick that lives near pigeon nests, often in the attics of old buildings. At night it crawls out to drink a little blood from pigeons.
Fun fact: this one is not an insect. It is an arachnid with eight legs, a cousin of the spiders.
Lives in
Europe, the Mediterranean, the Near East and parts of Asia, in buildings where pigeons nest
Can it hurt you?
Dangerous: look, do not touch
Its bite can itch, it can carry germs, and a few people get a very strong allergy from it. If you find one, look but do not touch, and tell a grown-up.
What does it eat?
It drinks the blood of pigeons at night.
Ticks: how to stay safe
- In Estonia, the castor bean tick and the taiga tick can carry Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
- Ticks wait on grass stems, from ankle to knee height. Long trousers tucked into socks and light clothes help you spot them.
- After playing outside, check your body, your hair and your pets for ticks.
- Found a tick? A grown-up should take it out quickly with fine tweezers or a tick tool: hold it close to the skin and pull slowly. No oil or alcohol on it. Then wash the spot.
- There is a vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis, for children too from one year old. Ask your doctor.
- If in the weeks after a bite you get a fever, feel ill or see a red patch that grows, go to a doctor.
How fast is it?
Pigeon tick about 0.02 km/h (0.01 mph)
A garden snail about 0.05 km/h (0.03 mph)
A tortoise about 0.3 km/h (0.19 mph)
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It can survive for 3 to 5 years without eating, and sometimes even 9 years.
2
It loses less water from its body than almost any other bug known, and can even soak up moisture from the air.
3
It finds pigeons by feeling the warmth of their bodies, but only from very close by.
4
Thousands of these ticks can live together in one building.
you asked
Most asked questions about Pigeon tick
?Where do pigeon ticks live?
In cracks near pigeon nests, often in attics and old buildings.
?How long can a pigeon tick live without food?
Usually 3 to 5 years, and sometimes up to 9 years.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Argas reflexus
- Group
- Scorpions, ticks and friends
- Family
- Argasidae
- Classification
- Arachnida > Ixodida > Argasidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, Africa
Where the facts come from
- Argas reflexus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Mario Bassini. CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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