Tick ​​bark Ticks also hide in native gardens

Ticks are also lurking in gardens. Preventive measures are important to protect against theft.
The garden as a home resort is popular with many - even if it sometimes means a lot of work. As a hobby gardener, Elke Schwarzer is someone who enjoys this work. Pruning, planting new plants, weeding, making your own garden shine - the Bielefeld woman enjoys all that. But even in the home garden it can come to encounters with ticks, as a study of the University of Hohenheim shows. Better, one has provided, otherwise severe infections, such as an early-summer Meningoenzephalitis (TBE), threaten.

Elke Schwarzer is a passionate gardener - not only in her terraced garden, but also in her books and her blog. There she gives other interested people tips and ideas about garden maintenance. Nevertheless, the actual work in the garden is the most beautiful for her. She can be found there any time of the year and is working hard on new projects and everyday tasks. She kneels in the grass to dig up her beds, and stretches into bushes to clear them. Places that the tick also likes.

(Image: Smileus / fotolia.com)

Ticks in the home garden
Because not only in the forest and on meadows threatens the danger to meet the small parasite. As a study of the University of Hohenheim revealed, gardens are also places where ticks like to stay. And even in big cities, the little animals crawl through the green. They are found mainly in grasses and bushes, where they then lurk on a potential host, from which they can be stripped off and they can sting. The small sting is not without danger, because it can transmit pathogens. The common feature here is that the puncture due to anesthetic in the saliva of the tick usually goes unnoticed. Anyone who spends much time in the garden should therefore take precautionary measures against ticks.

Ticks can transmit pathogens
Over 50 different pathogens can transmit ticks during stinging. This includes the early-summer meningoencephalitis virus, TBE for short. It may be in the saliva of the tick and is then passed on immediately at the sting. FSME is a disease of the meninges and the central nervous system. Some sufferers have serious health consequences. Also, the disease is not causally treatable - in the case of illness, symptoms such as pain and high fever can only be relieved with medication.

Precautionary measures against ticks
With a few measures you can reduce the risk of a tick bite. These include sturdy shoes and long, light clothing. On the one hand, access to the skin for the ticks is made more difficult. On the bright clothes, the dark animals are also better to see and you can remove them before they can stab. With insect repellent sprays, so-called repellents, ticks can be additionally kept at a distance. Scanning your body regularly after a stay in nature is also recommended. In addition, a vaccine can prevent, after a tick bite to contract TBE.

Where are TBE risk areas??
TBE risk areas are counties in which the risk of becoming infected with TBE after a tick bite is particularly high. These areas are defined annually by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). In Germany these are currently large parts of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg as well as parts of southern Hesse and Thuringia. Especially for residents and travelers in the TBE risk areas and certain professional groups, such as laboratory workers or farmers, therefore, the TBE vaccine is recommended by the Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO). Nevertheless, it should be noted that ticks infected with TBE viruses can occur throughout Germany and TBE risk areas continue to spread northward. Elke Schwarzer also had some encounters with ticks in her garden: "In the meantime, I have already had to pull a double-digit number of ticks off my body. All from my garden! ", Reports the Bielefeld-based. For them, precautionary measures and vaccination protection have therefore become a matter of course.