Common Tick Types

 


Common Tick Types



Spending time in wooded areas can bring you in close contact with ticks and other biting pests; but did you know that many people get tick bites in their own backyard?

Getting familiar with the most common types of ticks you might find near you can help you avoid bites. This information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can help you identify some of the most common ticks. Learn more at https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/tickID.html.


American Dog Tick 

AMERICAN DOG TICK (WOOD TICK)

Dermacentor variabilis, D.

  • Common throughout the eastern half of the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains.
  • Males and females are reddish-brown and about 3/16 inch long.
  • Adult females are most likely to bite humans with peak activity during spring and summer.
  • American Dog Ticks can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.
Black Legged Tick 

BLACKLEGGED TICK (DEER TICK)

Ixodes scapularis

  • These ticks are widely distributed across the eastern United States.
  • In the Northeast, Upper Midwest and mid-Atlantic, ticks are most active in spring, summer and fall. However, adult ticks may search for a host any time temperatures are above freezing.
  • Adults are reddish-brown and about 1/8 inch long (about half the size of the American dog tick).
  • Can transmit Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis.
Lone Star Tick 

LONE STAR TICK

Amblyomma americanum

  • Typically found in the southeastern and eastern United States.
  • Females have a single white dot in the center of their brown bodies.
  • Adults are aggressive and seek out larger animals as hosts, including humans.
  • Nymphs and adults can transmit pathogens that cause ehrlichiosis, tularemia, Heartland virus and Bourbon virus in humans.
Brown Dog Tick 

BROWN DOG TICK

Rhipicephalus sanguineus

  • Found throughout the entire United States and worldwide.
  • The adult brown dog tick is reddish-brown and about 1/8 inch long.
  • The brown dog tick’s primary host is the dog, but it can also bite humans.
  • Common carrier of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.