Tick

This afternoon I discovered this gorged tick on my stomach.  It was about 3mm long. Ticks are arachnids, not insects, but I have no idea what sort of tick it is.  The web doesn't seem to offer much help in classifying them.

I am a bit uncertain as to where and when I could have picked it up.  I haven't been rolling in any grass, or been near any cats or dogs for weeks.  I did go up Reading University grounds yesterday but the only thing I did that could have possibly allowed a parasite to get onto me was brush past some tree branches.  Maybe some tick eggs have been lying dormant a long while in my clothing or my bed and are just starting to hatch out.  I did put the heating on last night, for the first time in ages.  I think I will wash all my bed sheets, just to be on the safe side. I have also looked up the symptoms of Lyme disease, the most serious disease transmitted by ticks, just in case.

Comments

[Aydin]

I am not familiar with the ticks of the UK, but it looks like it was engorged with your blood.