How is it that ticks stay attached so well?

Have you ever wondered how it is that ticks stay attached so well? Their mouthparts are so small that it is difficult to tell the morphology without using a microscope.
The castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus) Photo © Biopix: JC Schou (https://www.biopix.com/photos/jcs-ixodes-ricinus-33242.jpg)
The castor bean tick (Ixodes ricinus) Photo © Biopix: JC Schou (https://www.biopix.com/photos/jcs-ixodes-ricinus-33242.jpg)

 

Have you ever wondered how it is that ticks stay attached so well? Their mouthparts are so small that it is difficult to tell the morphology without using a microscope. The following is an incredible video from the New York Times that shows how ticks attach and explains some of the advantages of such a strategy.