Tick Facts

Ticks are arthropods that are sometimes mistakenly called insects. Insects have three body regions, six legs, and typically possess wings. Ticks lack wings, have two body regions, and depending upon their developmental stage, may have either six or eight legs. Ticks possess tremendous potential for transmitting organisms that may cause disease in humans and other animals. These disease-causing organisms include protozoa, viruses, and bacteria. Bites from certain ticks can cause a rare limp paralysis starting in the lower limbs and moving upwards with death resulting if the tick is not promptly removed. Additionally, tick bites can cause skin irritations or even allergic reactions in sensitive people who are repeatedly bitten.

Ticks undergo four developmental stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Nymphs and adults have four pairs of legs, while larvae have three pairs. All developmental stages of ticks are obligate blood feeders. They must obtain a blood meal to molt to the next life stage and for female ticks to develop eggs. Males remain on their host and mate with several females; they too will eventually drop from their host.

Depending upon the species of tick, the number of eggs laid may range from a few hundred to several thousand. In most cases, the larger the volume of blood taken, the more eggs the female will be able to produce. The egg-laying process may take from several days to two or three weeks to complete. The female dies shortly after laying her eggs. The developmental period for each tick stage varies, and the entire life cycle may take up to two years or more to complete.

Ticks do not jump or fly and must literally come in contact with a host. Favorite vegetation sites for adult ticks that quest include tall grass and shrubs. Immature ticks are more likely to remain near the leaf litter or lower in the vegetation where they are more likely to encounter small rodents and ground-visiting birds.

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Your protection begins with the first treatment in the spring, the season when hungry nymph-stage deer ticks are rapidly increasing their activity. Most people get Lyme disease from tiny nymph ticks since they are so hard to see.

Second treatment is in the summer, essential since outdoor activities and the tick populations are at their seasonal peak.

Third treatment is in the fall. Control during this period is important since Nymph and Adult ticks are most abundant. Adult ticks are active even with snow on the ground.

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Tick Species in New York State

New York state has several species of ticks. Those of greatest public health importance are the American dog tick, the brown dog tick, the lone star tick, the groundhog tick, and the blacklegged tick.

American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

The American Dog Tick, Dermacentor variabilis. Clockwise: nymph, larva, male, female.

American dog tick females are about 1/4 inch (6.35mm) long and are chestnut brown with a silvery-gray or creamy-white scutum. Male ticks are slightly smaller, and are chestnut brown with similar light-colored vertical markings on the dorsal surface. Larvae feed on small mammals, and nymphs feed on small-to medium-sized mammals. Adults, sometimes called wood ticks, occasionally attack humans but are more common on dogs and other medium-sized animals.

Dermacentor variabilis is a known vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, a bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever in humans. Most Rocky Mountain spotted fever cases are reported from the south Atlantic and south central states, but cases do occur each year in New York state, especially on Long Island. The average incubation period after an infected tick bite is seven days and results in fever, severe headache, and joint and body aches. Within a few days a spotted rash appears on the wrists and ankles and spreads to the palms, soles, and eventually to the rest of the body. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is treatable with antibiotics but can be fatal if not treated promptly. Rickettsia rickettsii can be transmitted to eggs. Consequently unfed larvae are capable of transmission, in addition to nymphs and adults.

Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)

The Brown Dog Tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. Starting with the upper left and going clockwise: fully blood-engorged female, female, larva, male.

Brown dog ticks are reddish-brown with a dark brown scutum. Unfed females are about 3/16 inch (4.76mm) long. All stages feed almost exclusively on dogs and can become established in kennels. Although brown dog ticks can be found crawling on humans they rarely attach and feed on humans. This tick is considered a nuisance species and is not known to transmit disease-causing organisms to humans in the United States.

Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum)

The Lone Star Tick, Amblyomma americanum. Clockwise from upper left: nymph, male, female.

All stages of Amblyomma americanum will aggressively attack people and other medium-to-large mammals. Females are 1/4 inch (6.35mm) long and reddish brown in coloration. A distinctive white spot or "star" on the scutum is characteristic of females. A reticulated pattern is apparent on the outer margins on the upper body surface of males. Lone star ticks have long mouthparts but with care the stylets can be completely removed from the host skin. Even with successful removal of mouthparts the cementing substance is left in the bite wound. This cement material can causing itching, skin irritation, and localized swelling immediately around the bite. Please refer to the guidelines for safe tick removal in this fact sheet.

Several cases of human monocytic ehrlichiosis are reported annually in New York State with most cases reported from Long Island and the lower Hudson River Valley. The causative agent is Ehrlichia chaffeensis, a type of bacterium. After an incubation period of 5 to 10 days nonspecific symptoms appear, including a high fever, severe headache, chills, aching muscles and joints, and fatigue. Patients may exhibit a rash, but it is not a common clinical feature of the disease. Usually infection with Ehrlichia chaffeensis is mild, but severe manifestations of the disease may result in death. Human monocytic ehrlichiosis is treatable with antibiotics.

Ixodes cookei (Ixodes cookei)

Ixodes cookei. Clockwise from upper left: female, nymph, larva.

Ixodes cookei has no official common name but it has been called the groundhog, woodchuck, or carnivore tick. Groundhog ticks are very similar in appearance to blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), thus microscope examination is required to properly distinguish between these two species. Ixodes cookei has been found to parasitize a wide variety of carnivores and rodents but can be especially abundant on groundhogs (Marmota monax). The groundhog tick rarely quests for hosts on vegetation. Rather, they are found in the burrow of their host. This tick is primarily considered a nuisance, but it has been associated with the transmission of a virus that causes Powassan encephalitis. Powassan encephalitis is rare, and just a handful of cases have been reported in New York state since its discovery in North America in 1954. This is probably a reflection of the low contact rate between humans and infected vectors. Infection with Powassan virus can cause inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and sometimes meningitis.

Blacklegged Tick or Deer Tick (Ixodes scapularis)

The Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes scapularis. From left to right: female, nymph, male.

The blacklegged tick is the officially accepted common name for Ixodes scapularis, but many people refer to them as "deer ticks". Adult females are dark brown in appearance and are less than 1/8 inch (3.12mm) long. Larvae and nymphs feed on small mammals and birds. The white-footed mouse is an important host for the immature ticks, while adults are more common on deer. All stages will bite humans, but due to their small size, attachment by larvae and nymphs often goes unnoticed.

The blacklegged tick is a vector of two bacterial diseases and one protozoan disease in New York state. Lyme disease is caused by infection with the bacterial spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Nymphs are considered to be the most important stage for transmission because they are easily overlooked due to their small size. Signs and symptoms of Lyme disease usually appear within 1 to 2 weeks (range 3-30 days) following an infected bite. In addition to flu-like symptoms roughly sixty to eighty percent of infected people develop a spreading rash (erythema migrans). The rash slowly spread and has a distinctive bulls-eye appearance. The risk of contracting an infection from a tick is virtually nil during the first 24 hours of attachment, so promptly removing ticks can reduce your chances of contracting Lyme disease. Untreated cases may resolve or progress to chronic joint, neurological, or cardiac problems. Lyme disease is treatable with antibiotics. Serological tests are used to support the clinical diagnosis of Lyme disease. These tests are designed to detect antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi. The reason that serological tests are not performed until several weeks after the appearance of symptoms is because it takes time for the immune system to develop detectable antibodies. Most cases of Lyme disease are reported from Long Island and the lower Hudson River Valley.

Excerpt from: Medical Entomology Extension at Cornell University, Tick Biology for the Homeowner, Renee R. Anderson and Laura C. Harrington

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