Did you know that a small creature found along the eastern coast of Australia can be deadly? With its bite, it can harm humans and pets, trigger a red-meat allergy, and even spread a life-threatening disease.

Meet Ixodes holo­cy­clus, also known as the Aus­tralian Paral­y­sis Tick.

From Sep­tem­ber to Decem­ber, you’re most like­ly to encounter it in its most dan­ger­ous form.

The paral­y­sis tick is often encoun­tered by peo­ple explor­ing the Aus­tralian bush, espe­cial­ly in moister coastal forests. It has four stages: egg, tiny six-legged lar­vae (known as the ‘seed’ or ‘grass’ tick), eight-legged nymph, and eight-legged adult.

The 1mm-long lar­val stage is most active in autumn, the 2mm nymph in win­ter, and the 4mm adult in spring. Since the adult is larg­er, it pos­es the great­est risk.

When a tick bites, it inserts nee­dle-like mouth­parts and injects ven­om in its sali­va. If left attached, this can lead to paral­y­sis, and in the past, has even caused fatal­i­ties. Repeat­ed bites can lead to severe aller­gic reac­tions, includ­ing life-threat­en­ing anaphylaxis.

Ticks can also trans­mit a com­pound called alpha-gal, which can make you aller­gic to red meat from ani­mals like cows, pigs, and sheep. Symp­toms of this aller­gy can include stom­ach aches, bloat­ing, vom­it­ing, and diarrhea.

Ticks are also known to trans­mit Rick­ettsia, a bac­te­r­i­al organ­ism treat­able with antibi­otics. If you devel­op a fever, rash, or oth­er symp­toms fol­low­ing a tick bite, con­sult your doc­tor immediately.

How can you avoid the paralysis tick?

Stephen Doggett, Direc­tor of Med­ical Ento­mol­o­gy at NSW Health Pathol­o­gy, rec­om­mends avoid­ing tick-prone areas, espe­cial­ly after rain, when ticks are most active.

If you do ven­ture into these areas, apply a repel­lent with DEET, picaridin, or oil of lemon euca­lyp­tus. Fol­low reap­pli­ca­tion instruc­tions and any safe­ty pre­cau­tions. Wear­ing cloth­ing treat­ed with per­me­thrin, which can be done with store-bought kits or pre-treat­ed cloth­ing, adds extra protection.

When you return home, remove cloth­ing, and place into a hot dry­er cycle to kill any ticks that may still be present. Care­ful­ly inspect your­self and your chil­dren for any signs of ticks.

What should you do if you find a tick?

Avoid touch­ing it or pulling it out with tweez­ers, as this can cause it to inject more ven­om (remem­ber, tweez­ers are tick squeez­ers!). Instead, kill the tick while it’s still attached by dab­bing it with a per­me­thrin-based cream or spray­ing it with an ether-based spray used for treat­ing warts, both avail­able over the counter at pharmacies.

If you have a severe aller­gic reac­tion, it’s best to see your GP, who can safe­ly treat the tick and ensure your wellbeing.

Stay tick-safe and enjoy your time in the bush with peace of mind!

Want more infor­ma­tion? Check out the NSW Health website.

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