Buzz
Out of the 80+ species of ticks found in North America, only 7 can transmit diseases to humans through their bites. The deer tick, also known as the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), is capable of transmitting Lyme disease and other illnesses to its host. While ticks can be identified in their adult stage, they can also transmit diseases from their nymph stage. If you get bitten by or find a tick attached to your clothing, it's important to determine whether it is a deer tick to seek appropriate treatment if necessary.
Steps
Inspect the Tick
Remove the Tick from the Host. The best method for removing a tick is to use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp it and pull it out, ensuring the tweezers are positioned to remove the tick entirely, including its head. Avoid using outdated methods like applying petroleum jelly or nail polish to the tick, as these can cause the tick to go into shock and possibly regurgitate harmful substances from its stomach (including bacteria) into the bloodstream of the host.
- Were you able to remove the entire tick? If you tugged or twisted the tick too forcefully, parts of its mouthparts may break off and remain embedded in the skin. These can be removed separately using clean tweezers. The tick can still be identified even without its mouthparts.
- Place the tick in a sealed container or on a piece of white paper and tape it securely.
Identify the Tick. How many legs does it have? Like other arachnids, ticks have 8 legs in their nymph and adult stages, but only 6 in their larval stage.
- If you place the tick in a jar, observe how it moves. If it’s a tick, it will crawl rather than fly or jump.
- Ticks have a flat, tear-shaped body at all stages of development. When they’re engorged with blood, their bodies become bloated and lighter in color.
- The deer tick is smaller than both the dog tick and the lone star tick. A nymph deer tick is about the size of a poppy seed, around 1-2 mm in diameter, and an adult is roughly 2- mm, about the size of a sesame seed. When fully engorged, a tick can reach up to 10 mm in length.
- Hard ticks, like the deer tick, have a “shield” or hard shell on their body. Soft ticks do not have this feature.
Examine the Tick’s “Shield”. You may need a magnifying glass to observe, as ticks are quite small in their earlier stages.
- The shield is the hard covering located behind the tick’s head. A deer tick’s shield is a solid color, whereas the shields of other tick species may have patterns.
- The shield also indicates the tick’s sex. Male adult ticks have a shield covering most of their body, while female ticks have a much smaller shield.
- If the tick is engorged with blood, it may be harder to identify using this feature. Engorged deer ticks will appear rusty or reddish-brown, while other ticks may be light gray or bluish. However, the shield itself will not change color.
Distinguishing a Deer Tick from Other Tick Species
Identify the Tick by its Markings. Female adult deer ticks, when not engorged, have bright orange-red bodies with a black shield. Male adults are dark brown to black.
- The term “wood tick” refers to several tick species, including the deer tick, the lone star tick, and the American dog tick. These three types of ticks are commonly found in wooded areas or recently cleared lands and crawl up from the ground. You will need to look for distinguishing marks to tell them apart.
- The brown dog tick has brown and white spots on its shield, which the deer tick lacks. The lone star tick has a prominent white star-shaped marking on its shield.
- Deer ticks are half the size of brown dog ticks, both when they’re engorged and when they’re not.
- Brown dog ticks rarely attach to humans, but they are one of the few tick species that can infest homes. As their name suggests, they often parasitize dogs, and you may find them in dog kennels, veterinary clinics, and outdoor areas where infected animals frequent.
Examine the Length of the Tick’s Mouthparts, Known as its “Barbs”. These structures resemble the tick’s head, but they are the hooks the tick uses to latch onto its host and feed on blood. The barbs consist of two sensory structures that resemble legs to help the tick locate its host, a pair of blade-like sensors to puncture the skin, and a barbed part (“hypostome”) to anchor the tick to the host.
- Deer ticks have much longer barbs compared to other tick species, such as the dog tick. The barbs are located at the front of the tick and can be seen from above.
- Female deer ticks have larger barbs than males. Male adult deer ticks do not feed on blood.
Pay attention to where you find ticks. Deer ticks are particularly abundant along the eastern and Midwest regions of the United States but can also be found as far south as Texas, extending through Missouri, Kansas, and various parts of Oklahoma.
- Deer ticks are most active during the spring, summer, and fall. However, they can be active any time the temperature exceeds freezing. Other types of ticks, such as dog ticks, are typically most active during the spring and summer months.
- Adult deer ticks are found in areas with dense vegetation and shrubs, preferring low shrubs over trees.
- The western black-legged tick, a variant of the deer tick, primarily resides in the Pacific coastal regions and is especially active in Northern California. This species rarely attaches to humans.
Warning
- If you suspect you've been bitten by a deer tick, it's important to see a doctor immediately for treatment. Lyme disease can usually be treated successfully if detected early, within 2 weeks of infection.
- Deer ticks are most likely to transmit disease during their nymph stage. Nymphs are much smaller than adult ticks, making them harder to detect and remove quickly.
