What do ticks look like...?

This obviously depends on the species considering there are currently over 850 different types of the nasty parasite...

Read our guide to the identification of all types of ticks where we have provided  pictures and photos...

Including the black legged deer tick as shown above, the seed, lone star, brown, american, and the types that cause lyme disease, rocky mountain spotted fever and how to spot the bullseye tick bite and what to do if you notice the common red bumpy bullseye rash....

Ticks are nasty little parasites that feed on the blood of a variety of different living creatures, mammals and people. Many people consider them to be insects but they are in fact arachnids. All types and kinds of ticks have four pairs of legs.

The parasite will be born as an egg or seed and six legged before achieving adulthood where they are eight legged.

They are similar to spiders and have black legs which are attached to it's abdomen. They are unable to fly and will crawl onto a host and then bite through the host's skin, they will then suck it's blood until its abdomen has expanded to allow it a maximum feed....Yuck!

They carry all kinds of diseases including Lyme disease, rocky mountain spotted fever, Tuleremia and even Human monocytic ehrlichiosis - nasty! They are capable of feeding on a host for several days.

Their life cycle has four stages from seed or larva, to nymph, adult and then after mating the female lays her eggs.

Lone Star - Amblyomma Americanum - The female is very easy to distinguish from other species due to the very obvious white star that is at the center of it's back - see the picture above.

This types of ticks are very aggressive and have been known to crawl very long distances to attach themselves to a host.

American Dog Tick - Dermacentor Variabilis - This variety looks like the Rocky mountain spotted wood tick and the golf coast parasite although this version have shorter mouth parts. Males and females that have not fed are a reddy brown. Females have a largish silver spot just behind it's head. In comparison the male has silver lines on it's back.

This species also carry Rocky mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, Tuleremia and Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Wood Tick - Demacentor Andersoni - As you can see from the photo that it looks like it's American version. This species are quite robust and rounded.

This variety can carry rocky mountain spotted fever, Colorado fever and Tularemia - they are one of the most common causes of tick paralysis.

The Brown Dog Tick  - Rhipicephalus Sangineus - This is also known as the kennel tick and feeds mainly on dogs and rarely on people. One of the differences with this variety is that it's life cycle will continue inside your House or kennel. It will hide behind cracks, radiators, in furniture and even under rugs.

Once it has become an adult it will grow to about 1/8 inch long and is often found attached behind a dog's ear. This variety is unlikely to transmit disease to humans, unlike other species.

The Deer Tick  - Ixodes Scapularis - At each stage of it's life cycle it is capable of feeding on different hosts, including people. They grow to about 1/8 inch as adults and are reddish brown in color - see the photo above.

This variety are known to carry lyme disease and the risk of getting bites is much higher during the summer.

This parasite can carry and transmit lyme disease, human anaplasmosis and babesiosis.

Check out our page on deer tick identification and deer tick removal for more tips, pictures and advice.

Thanks to Jim Wilson and John Moran for the use of the ticks pictures, why not take a look ar Jim's excellent site at www.canlyme.com  and John's site here.

Seed  - This is the early stage in the parasite's life where they are still a larva - look at the photo above. We have also devoted a whole page to seed ticks where we give more advice.

The bullseye tick bite red bumpy rash is a common sign of lyme disease but remember it does not always appear.

The red bumpy rash is circular on the outside and clear on the inner circle with a red bumpy rash right in the centre - hence the name bullseye rash.

Lyme disease needs to be treated very quickly with anti-biotics. Check out our page on tick bite symptoms for more advice. But get advice from your GP or vet FAST!

We hope we have answered the initial question of What do ticks look like? By providing pictures & photos etc for you to see what they look like may help you and your dog avoid them in the future.