How does tick look like

They have pale colored abdomens. Nymphs of the major species of tick look very similar and specific identification will need to be made by a professional. If you were bitten by a nymphal tick, our laboratory technicians can identify it for you during the testing process.

Adult ticks have 8 legs, a distinguishable dorsal shield, and visible mouthparts. The body shape, color, and ornamentation are unique to species and used in identification. Common features used to determine species are festoons patterns along the outer edge of the abdomen , mouthpart shape and length, and dorsal shield adornment. If you were bitten by an adult tick, you can identify it with the species chart above or request that our lab ID it for you.

An easy way to distinguish between male and female ticks, of any species, is to look at the size of the dorsal shield. Regardless of species, the dorsal upper shield of males will cover almost the entire abdomen [see right diagram] , while the dorsal shield of females will cover only a small portion of the abdomen [see left diagram].

Male dog ticks will have the ornamentation across the whole back for dog ticks. Determination of the tick's gender is important because adult male ticks, although they may attach, do not take a blood meal and therefore cannot transmit pathogens. It is very likely that any ticks you discover embedded on a human or animal are female.

Notice: Turn-around-time guarantee is currently 72 hours upon receipt. Toggle navigation TickCheck. How does tick testing work? What diseases can ticks carry? What if my tick tests positive? What diseases can ticks transmit to my pets? Intro Text. What does a tick look like on a cat or dog?

Learn what ticks look like, how to check for them and what to do if you spot one. What does a tick on a cat or dog look like? Tick larvae are about the size of a grain of sand and look like red or black specks. Tick nymphs are slightly larger than larvae, about the size of a sesame seed. Unfed adults are about the size of an apple seed, flattened and teardrop shaped.

They are typically brown in colour, with a darker brown area around their mouthparts. If your pet ventures outside, check them regularly for ticks using our visual guide. Engorged ticks are noticeably larger than unfed ticks — about 1 cm long. Engorged ticks can be grey or white in colour and rounded.

How to find ticks on your cat or dog Regularly looking for ticks on your pet can help protect them and give you and your family peace of mind. These ticks are also known vectors of tularemia, a disease transmitted from rabbits, mice, squirrels and other small animals. Symptoms include an ulcer at the bite site, fever, chills and tender lymph nodes.

Brown Dog Tick. General Info : Similar to the American dog tick, the brown dog tick is named for its preferred host. It is also named for its color. It is not common, but brown dog ticks will bite humans in the absence of a canine host. What Do Brown Dog Ticks Look Like : As told by their name, brown dog ticks are typically brown in color, but can become a gray and blue color when engorged.

Brown dog ticks, like the American dog tick, also have 6 legs as larvae and 8 as adults. Habits: Brown dog ticks are unique from the other species of ticks because they are the only kind that can complete their entire life cycle indoors, as they survive best in warm, dry conditions. Threats: Brown dogs ticks can be vectors of disease for dogs, transmitting tick-borne diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever, canine ehrlichiosis and canine Babesia.

Lone Star Tick. Found mainly in the eastern and southeastern U. Similar to the other species of ticks, lone star tick larvae have 6 legs, while adults have 8. Male ticks are usually slightly smaller. Habits: Lone star ticks are three-host ticks, meaning they attach to a different host during each stage of their lifespan: larvae, nymph and adult. They attach to their host by crawling up the tips of low-growing vegetation, such as grass, and wait for the host to pass by and brush against the vegetation.

As nymphs and adults, lone star ticks will also crawl on the ground to find the host and attach. These ticks are most often found in shaded areas, as they cannot survive for long in the sun. Larvae prefer small animals, including rabbits, skunks, raccoons, cats and birds, while nymphs typically target a mix of small and large animals. Adult lone star tick hosts are larger animals, such as fox, dogs, cats, deer, turkey, cattle and humans — who are fed on by all three stages of lone star ticks.

As with all ticks, early detection and removal is crucial, but lone star ticks have long mouthparts that can make removal especially difficult, as their mouthparts oftentimes break off while being extracted, resulting in further infection in the host. Rocky Mountain Wood Tick. General Info : The Rocky Mountain wood tick is named after the habitat it is most commonly found — throughout the wooded areas of the Rocky Mountain states.

They are also commonly referred to as wood ticks. As is customary with the other tick species, Rocky Mountain wood ticks have 6 legs as larvae and 8 as adults.