Dog Tick Dermacentor variabilis; the most common tick in the ILC area is the Dog Tick. This flattened, “hard tick” has a lighter colored tab on the cephalo-thorax, but otherwise the body is leathery. The larval stage is referred to as a “seed tick”, which is so small it is hard to see, and only has six legs. It is never infectious, and feeds only once, thereafter falling off till next year. If its first meal is from an animal that is infected it might pick up Rickettsia bacteria. As an eight legged nymph it might carry virus or bacteria for Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever, or Tularemia, but never Lyme’s disease. Lyme’s is carried by the Deer Tick, which is rare here. The adult Dog Tick would much rather snack on your dog than you, and at 1/8″ long it is much easier to see. Nymphs and adults crawl up on long grass or brush, waiting for an animal, or your legs to go by, when it grabs on and tries to burrow into the skin. You might feel them gently crawling along your skin, hoping to find your dog. After it has fed it will engorge to a round grey blob, then fall off and lay eggs. An engorged tick can be 3/8″ long. Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick Fever is more common in the NE coastal woodlands, but was first described by patients from the Rocky Mountains. It is fast acting, marked by high fever, weakness, muscle and joint aches, and sometimes a rash of bright red spots. It does not develop the “Bull’s-Eye” rash that marks Lyme’s. RMSTF is serious, but usually responds well to antibiotics.
The other ticks in the area are the Woodland Tick (which looks a lot like the Dog Tick), Lone-Star Tick (with a bright yellow spot on the thorax tab), and the uncommon Deer Tick (reddish-brown with black legs and long snout).
Dog Tick: note: the light colored tab on the back, and dark, leathery body with 8 legs, and chewing mouth parts.
Trail Trotter's Flower Guide 