Types of Ticks

     Sometimes ticks are mistaken for insects; however, ticks are small arachnids.  There are around 850 tick species that we know of, and they can be categorized into soft and hard ticks.  Typically soft ticks are found in nests or caves and feed on birds, bats, as well as ground-nesting animals.  Sometimes they will find a human host in a cave or at a campsite.  On the other hand, hard ticks drink the blood of mammals, which include wildlife, domestic animals, and humans.  Both of these tick types will bite and latch onto their hosts, sucking their blood.  In the case of hard ticks, they will pass from one stage of their development to another stage after each blood meal.  Hard ticks have specific larval, nymphal, and adult stages.  Soft ticks will have a series of molts and will feed more often than hard ticks. 

      The American dog tick is one of the most common of tick species.  This species of tick will feed on mammals during early stages of development, but will then later transfer to a human host.  They can transfer Rocky Mountain spotted fever as well as tularemia.  They can also be the cause of tick paralysis.  The deer tick, known as the blacklegged tick is typically active during the spring and early summer months and can pass on Lyme disease.  We will explore these two types of ticks in more detail as well as some other types of ticks too.

Deer Ticks

      Ixodes scapularis, or deer ticks, or blacklegged ticks as they are referred to interchangeably, often feed on white-tailed deer, but may also have human hosts.  Domestic animals and livestock can also serve as hosts.  Although deer ticks were first found in Massachusetts in the 1920s, they have been found in many other areas, including Mexico, Canada, the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast of the United States. 

       The deer tick is very small.  It is about 1/6 to 1/8 inch in length, and the males of the species are even smaller.  Deer ticks are usually orangish-brown in color and may change to rust or brown red after they have fed.  After finishing their meal, their body becomes engorged and they are able to expand.  Despite this, the deer tick still remains only about 1/2 of the size of the American dog tick. Another challenge relating to this type of tick is that since it is so small, a human may not even notice the bite, and it is so important for a human to detect a tick bite immediately to prevent any further diseases.

     Deer ticks are also different from other species because their feeding periods will last longer than the feeding periods of other species of ticks.  In fact, deer ticks may remain attached to their hosts for a total of six days.  They will continue feeding until their bodies are engorged, at which time they will drop to molt or lay eggs.  There is also no resulting rash from the deer tick bites. 

      Before becoming adults, deer ticks first must go through larval and nymphal stages.  The female ticks will lay their eggs and the larvae will hatch and begin to search for their hosts right away.  Their initial hosts are usually small animals like mice.  This is when they usually develop diseases like Lyme disease, human anaplasmosis, and babesiosi.  These diseases can be later transmitted to human hosts.

      The deer ticks seem to like to live in wet and bushy areas.  They are usually found on leaves and plant life.  Since they are on the leaves or plants, a potential host will brush the plant, and the tick grabs the fur or clothing of the new host and soon has bitten and latched on. 

     Deer ticks can be found anywhere that the white tailed deer live.  They are located in most locations in the United States and often live in wooded areas and along trails in forests. 

Dog Ticks

     The American dog tick and the brown dog tick will use domestic animals as their hosts.  Both of these species are hard ticks and may feed on humans.  The dog tick can transfer Rocky Mountain spotted fever.  This tick will begin as an egg and go through the larval and nymphal stages before becoming a mature adult.  The American dog tick larvae and the nymphs will feed on smaller mammals, but adults will live on larger mammals, such as dogs or humans.  Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be a result of the American dog tick, and this disease causes the symptoms of lack of appetite, nausea, fever, and muscle pain. 

     The brown dog tick tends to be small and a reddish brown color.  This tick will feed on different mammals, but it seems to prefer feeding on canines.  These ticks rarely bite humans.  These ticks can also be found indoors. 

     Before the female tick becomes engorged after feeding, the male and female American dog tick have similar looks.  They are about 3/16 inch in length and have yellow markings on their bodies, but after a feeding, a male will only grow a little in size, while a female may grow to 1/2 inch in length.  When the adult females are finished feasting, they will detach from their hosts and find a location for laying their eggs.  One tick can lay 5,000 eggs in one batch.  As soon as the larvae emerge from their eggs, they search for a host, and this is often a small rodent, such as a mouse.  They also will feed until they are engorged, and at this point they will drop to the ground where they will transform into nymphs.  They may develop into an adult within three months, but in less favorable environments, this process may take up to two years. 

Lone Star Ticks

     The lone star tick is a common tick of North America.  It finds its hosts in warm-blooded animals, and this includes humans.  They are found mostly in the eastern portion of the United States, but have also be seen in Illinios.  They are most active during late spring and summer, from April until July. 

     The lone star ticks are typically about 1/8 inch in length and are brown.  They are sometimes confused with the deer tick.  Adult females can be distinguished from all others based on the white spot they have on their backs.  One challenge with the lone star tick is that the bite is not painful and the host may not realize that they have been bitten until some of the common symptoms come about.  Sometimes, however, an allergic reaction occurs.  Lone star ticks can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, and tularemia.  You can prevent these diseases by removing the tick immediately and seeking immediate medical treatment.  When you remove the tick, be sure to remove it by its mouthpart so that the mouthpart does not remain in your skin.  Use a tweezers and pull the tick out from the skin in a straight and steady manner. 

Soft Ticks

     Some common soft tick species include the relapsing fever tick and the fowl tick.  Soft ticks can pass on bacteria and disease just as hard ticks.  Some of these diseases include Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrilichiosis, tularemia, tick-borne relapsing fever, and babesiosis.

      After the soft ticks have passed the egg stage, they seek hosts and then undergo a molt.  After the molt, they are in the nymphal stage, at which point they must go through several more molts.  After each molt, the soft ticks will grow larger and feed a number of times.