HOW TO AVOID THEM AND WHAT TO DO IF YOU GET BITTEN

With the number of critters on the rise, the UK is seeing increasing cases of tick-borne viruses already established in South Africa

- ADAM HART

Earlier this year, a 50-year-old man in Yorkshire became the first person in England to contract a confirmed case of tick-borne encephalitis, after being bitten while mountain biking. The virus has since been detected in Dorset, Norfolk and Hampshire.

With tick numbers increasing in the UK over recent years, the likelihood of being bitten is also rising. So just how dangerous are tick bites?

What are ticks?

Ticks are arachnids, like spiders and scorpions. Many of them look superficially like very small spiders. They belong to a group of arachnids called the acari, which also includes the mites. Most mites are tiny - 1mm or less and are often overlooked. Better-known species include the scabies mite, which causes a skin condition in humans, and the varroa mite, which infests honeybees. Despite these well-known parasitic species, many mites are decomposers or predators. However, their close cousins - ticks - are all parasites that feed on animal blood.

There are nearly 1,000 species of ticks found across the world, mostly in warm, humid regions. There are two main types: hard-bodied ticks, of which there are more than 700 species, and soft-bodied ticks. It's the hard-bodied ticks that cause the most problems for us. Their mouthparts form a beak-like structure that can pierce our skin, allowing them to feed on our blood.

What diseases do they carry?