A tick signifies a low and ignoble enemy. Gathering ticks and throwing them away signifies repelling someone who wants to consume one's wealth. Killing a tick signifies overcoming and subduing such an enemy. It has been said that seeing a tick signifies a man who fills his belly with unlawful things, because the tick eats and drinks only blood. (A tick is a small insect that attaches itself to the flesh of animals and sucks their blood.)