Increasing your knowledge about ticks and tick encounters will make you better prepared to protect yourself and others.
American Dog Ticks (Dermacentor Variabilis)
Overview
American Dog Ticks
are found predominantly in areas with little or no tree cover, such as grassy fields and scrubland, as well as along walkways and trails. They feed on a variety of hosts, ranging in size from mice to deer, and nymphs and adults can transmit diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia. American dog ticks can survive for up to 2 years at any given stage if no host is found. Females can be identified by their large off-white scutum against a dark brown body.
Adults
Adult males
and females
are
active April- early August, and are mostly found questing in tall grass and low lying brush and twigs.
They feed on medium-sized wildlife hosts, including raccoons, skunks, opossums and coyotes, as well as
domestic dogs, cats and man. Adult American dog ticks commonly attack humans. Male ticks blood feed
briefly but do not become distended with blood. Once finished feeding, males mate with the female while
she feeds, which can take one week or more. Once replete, female dog ticks detach from their host and
drop into the leaf litter, where they can lay over 4,000 eggs before dying.
Larvae
Larvae
are active
late April - September, and can be found questing for a host (voles, mice, raccoons, opossums, etc.) in the
leaf litter. In the northeastern U.S., larvae overwinter and are most abundant in the spring and early
summer. After blood feeding for around 4 days, they drop off of the host and bury themselves in the leaf
litter, where they molt into nymphs.
Nymphs
Nymphs
are
active May - July, and feed on small and mid-sized animals, such as mice voles, rabbits, raccoons and
skunks. Nymphal dog ticks rarely attach to humans. Once engorged, nymphs detach from the host into the
leaf litter, and molt into adults.
Are you concerned about the serious health threat caused by ticks?
Would you like to make appropriate tick-borne diseases prevention programming more widely available? If you answered yes to these questions, please consider supporting the Tick Encounter Resource Center at the University of Rhode Island. Proceeds help support tick-bite prevention programs.