Alternate name: Dog Ticks

Family: Ixodidae, Hard Ticks view all from this family

Description 1/8" (3-4 mm). Male's body pale gray with reddish-brown spots and legs. Female's body reddish-brown with small shield of black-speckled gray near head. Legs brown; head often orange above.

Warning These ticks can transfer disease organisms from one host to the next, including those that cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, tularemia, and tick paralysis. After a walk through a field, it is wise to inspect clothing and hair for ticks. If bitten, be sure to remove tick head to prevent infection, then burn the tick or drown it in alcohol.

Food Adult feeds on larger animals and blood of mammals, especially deer. Larva feeds on rodents.

Life Cycle Tick clings to plants while extending fore legs to seize passing host. Tick climbs on prey for a meal, dropping off after fully engorged. If not yet mature, tick molts and repeats process. Mature female, if mated before last major meal, drops many eggs, producing six-legged larvae.

Habitat Woodlands and shrubbery beside trails.

Range Eastern North America.