Ticks emerge from hibernation in March and remain active until late autumn. They live mainly in forests and tall grass, so you need to be very aware and careful during your stay in Akademgorodok as it is situated in a forest area. Ticks are minute in size and have a red back. Having bitten a person, the tick can carry on sucking their blood for several days. During this time, it increases in size and becomes more noticeable, and its colour changes to grey.

Before a bite, the tick can take some time to crawl all over the person's skin. Therefore, always check carefully your clothes, your skin and hair for ticks after having been outside. To prevent ticks from getting onto the skin, it is recommended to wear sport trousers with wide elastic bands or to tuck them into socks while in the forest. Also, it is advisable to wear lace-up shoes, a hat, and a long-sleeved shirt or jacket. Ticks are more easily seen on light-coloured clothing and you can also use an anti-tick spray for protection purposes. However, you should remain vigilant at all times while being outside or after having spent some in the open.

Ticks are often found on other animals, dogs etc. They do not pose a threat to them, but they can jump from an animal to a person. Therefore, pets are also to be checked after being taken for a walk and you are advised not to touch animals in the open air.

Ticks can carry and transmit diseases that are dangerous to human health and life. These diseases can be transferred to the human body as a result of a tick bite. If you have the insurance, in the event of a bite you will be entitled to a number of services free of charge. These include tick removal, treatment of the bite site with the necessary medicaments, preventive medication and a laboratory test of the tick. If the tick is found to be a carrier of a contagious disease, you will be informed about it and in case you develop the symptoms of an illness in question, the insurance policy will cover treatment and medication costs.

If you detect a tick after it has already bitten you, under no circumstances should you try to remove it yourself. You are to seek qualified assistance for that and go to a medical center immediately. If you have taken out the insurance policy, you need to call the number stated in the document. If you are insured with Ingosstrakh, call 8 800 2003 911, which is a free number all over Russia. Further on, you will be advised as to the closest medical center you will need to contact.

The type of insurance policy you have taken out will determine the range of medical services provided by the medical center. Make sure that you have your passport and insurance with you when you go to the medical centre.

If you are at a loss about what to do, or you need help, another option would be calling the emergency telephone number of the NSU Foreign Student Support Department (https://vk.com/issc_nsu).