A related tick, the Western black-legged tick, can be found in the Pacific and Western regions of the country.ĭog ticks are common in the Midwest and Eastern US, with limited numbers on the Pacific Coast. “Nearly 90% of ticks in the Northeast and upper Midwestern US are black-legged ticks,” Molaei said. Black-legged ticks (also called deer ticks) make their home throughout the Northeast and upper Midwest. There are several tick species in the United States, though three are most plentiful. “They are mainly active outdoors in wooded areas amongst shrubs, trees and tall grasses,” he said.
Ticks can be found in our backyards, under leaves, on ground cover, around walls and near structures and woodpiles where rodents and other small mammals are active, Molaei said. They sometimes bite humans in the larval stage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only infected ticks in either of these two stages pose a risk to humans, according to Molaei. Nymphs, which are “about the size of a poppy seed,” and adults, which are “about the size of apple seed,” also feed. The larval black-legged tick, recently hatched from an egg, is “about the size of a period at the end of the sentence.” These tend to feed on birds and rodents. If infected with bacteria, viruses or parasites, a biting tick poses a risk to human health.Īccording to Durland Fish, professor emeritus of epidemiology (microbial diseases) at the Yale School of Public Health, ticks have three feeding stages. To survive, ticks must eat the blood of mammals, birds, reptiles or amphibians. They do not fly, and they do not drop from trees,” Molaei said. “People should realize that ticks do not jump. Life begins as an egg, and then ticks develop through larval and nymphal stages before reaching maturity. They are arachnids, and like their relative the spider, they have eight legs when they reach adulthood. Ticks are not insects, said Goudarz Molaei, a research scientist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Here’s a simple guide to all things tick: Worry, though, is unnecessary since prevention is possible. In the coming months, some experts predict that ticks and the diseases they cause will be more abundant due to warmer winter temperatures. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.Īs summer heat descends, replacing balmy spring breezes, ticks are becoming active in many regions of the United States. This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated.