How to Identify Ticks

Identifying ticks is important, especially when you consider the dangers of Lyme Disease. Even if you use insect repellents and wear appropriate clothing while hiking, you may still pick up a tick. Ticks come in more than 850 species, about 100 of which transmit diseases. In the U.S., the main kinds of ticks are deer ticks, lone star ticks, American dog ticks, Rocky Mountain wood ticks, pacific coast ticks, Western black-legged ticks and brown dog ticks. Here's how to identify some of these little blood-sucking arachnids, the adults of which have four pairs of legs and two body segments.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Be familiar with the types of ticks found in your area, since a large part of identifying a tick is based on where you find it.

2. Notice whether it's a hard tick or a soft tick. A hard tick has a thick outer shell, and when unfed, is shaped like a flat seed. A soft tick has a membraneous surface, is far less common and looks something like a raisin.

3. Look at the coloring and size of the tick. If it is reddish-brown, about 1/8-inch long, and you found it near a wooded trail, chances are good that you have identified a deer (or black-legged) tick, which are common to the eastern part of North America and are one of the main carriers of Lyme Disease.

4. Identify a lone star tick if the tick is brown and about 1/3-inch long. The females have a distinct white spot in the middle of their backs. These ticks are found from Texas to Oklahoma, eastward to the Atlantic Coast, and often carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

5. Identify an American dog tick (also called a wood tick) if the tick is dark brown, about 1/8-inch long and has a silver-colored spot behind the head or fine silver lines down its back. This tick is found throughout the United States and often carries Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Tips & Warnings

• Many ticks, especially deer ticks, are very small: 1/8-inch or even smaller.
• Ticks can nearly double their size when they are engorged with blood after feeding.
• The longer a tick feeds, the greater the chance of developing an infection.