Types of Ticks: What Do Ticks Look Like?

tick under a magnifying glass

Knowing the types of ticks and what ticks look like can help you to know your risk of Lyme and other diseases — and whether you need urgent medical care.

All ticks are blood-sucking parasites that attach to humans, pets, livestock, and wild animals. When feeding on their host, a tick can transmit diseases that can become life-threatening when left untreated.

Oh, and we’ve included expert comments on ticks and tick control later in this article.

9 Types of Ticks

There are many types of ticks throughout the world, and they are found in particular regions. It’s important to be able identify ticks so you know whether to seek medical attention, how to remove ticks, and how to get rid of ticks where you live.

  1. American dog tick (Dermacentor Variabilis)
  2. Blacklegged ‘deer’ tick (Ixodes Scapularis)
  3. Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus Sanguineus)
  4. Groundhog tick (Ixodes Cookei)
  5. Gulf coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum)
  6. Lone star tick (Amblyomma Americanum)
  7. Pacific coast tick (Dermacentor Occidentalis)
  8. Rocky mountain wood tick (Dermacentor Andersoni)
  9. Soft ticks (Ornithodoros)

1. American dog tick (Dermacentor Variabilis)

Photo Credit: K-State Research and Extension / Flickr / CC BY 2.0

The American dog tick, also known as a wood tick, has a reddish-brown body.

Females have a grayish-white dorsal shield (the scutum) located right behind their feeding parts. The male scutum covers the majority of the tick’s surface. Females are typically 5 mm long when unfed, and males are about 3.6 mm long.

The American dog tick is most commonly attached to dogs but can attack large animals, including cows, horses, and humans.

Region: The American dog tick is most commonly found east of the Rocky Mountains and in limited areas on the Pacific Coast.

Diseases: The American dog tick carries Rickettsia rickettsii (Rocky Mountain spotted fever), Francisella tularensis (tularemia), Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, and canine tick paralysis.

Danger: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and canine tick paralysis can become life-threatening.

2. Blacklegged ‘deer’ tick (Ixodes Scapularis)

Photo Credit: Fairfax County / Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0

The blacklegged “deer” tick has a reddish-orange body, black shield, and black legs. The Lyme Disease Association compares the adult tick to the size of a sesame seed, and the nymph to the size of a poppyseed.

Region: Deer ticks are found all across the U.S.

Diseases: Deer ticks can transmit many diseases to humans, including Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii (Lyme disease), Borrelia miyamotoi and Borrelia hermsii (relapsing fever Borreliosis), Ehrlichia muris (ehrlichiosis), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (anaplasmosis), Babesia microti (babesiosis), Powassan virus, and multiple species of Rickettsia.

Danger: Lyme disease and all the other pathogens deer ticks can transmit to humans can be deadly. The most significant risk to a deer tick bite is in the spring, summer, and fall. But deer ticks can still attack during the winter when temperatures are above freezing.

3. Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus Sanguineus)

Photo Credit: CDC/ James Gathany; William Nicholson, Source: Public Health Image Library / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

The brown dog tick is narrow in shape compared to others and is reddish-brown. The brown dog tick’s primary hosts are dogs, to which it can transfer many diseases, but this tick also can bite humans and other animals.

Region: This tick is active worldwide.

Diseases: The Brown Dog Tick can transmit RMSF, Q Fever, and other rickettsioses to humans.

Danger: Q Fever and RMSF may lead to life-threatening complications.

4. Groundhog tick (Ixodes Cookei)

The groundhog tick, also known as woodchuck tick, is light brown or yellow. This tick feeds on warm-blooded animals, including groundhogs, skunks, squirrels, and foxes. This tick will sometimes bite humans and domestic animals.

Region: This tick can be found throughout the eastern U.S.

Diseases: The groundhog tick is the primary carrier for Powassan virus disease.

Danger: Powassan virus can become life-threatening, and people who survive usually have long-term health problems.

5. Gulf coast tick (Amblyomma maculatum)

Photo Credit: CDC/ Dr. Christopher Paddock, Source: Public Health Image Library / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

Gulf Coast ticks are 6-mm in length and are easily confused with the American dog tick.

Females have a reduced, dark brown scutum. The male scutum covers the majority of its surface, is dark brown, and features interconnected silvery white lines.

Larvae and nymphs feed on birds and small rodents, while adult ticks feed on larger wildlife, including deer, dogs, panthers, bears, and humans.

Region: The Gulf Coast Tick is found in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic, as well as in southern Arizona.

Diseases: R. parkeri rickettsiosis, a type of spotted fever.

Danger: R. parkeri rickettsiosis is usually less severe than RMSF but can be life-threatening.

6. Lone star tick (Amblyomma Americanum)

Photo Credit: James Gathany Content Providers(s): CDC/ Michael L. Levin, Ph. D. / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain

The lone star tick is reddish-brown. The adult female has a white dot or “lone star” on her back.

The lone star tick is most active in early spring through late fall.

Region: This tick is found in the Eastern U.S. but is more common in the South. (Texas, as you know, is known as the Lone Star state.)

Diseases: The nymphs and adult ticks can transmit Human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis (HME), Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Ehrlichia ewingii (which cause ehrlichiosis), Rickettsiosis, RMSF, Francisella tularensis (causes Tularemia), Heartland virus, Bourbon virus, Q fever, tick paralysis, and Borrelia lonestari, known as Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI).

Danger: Lone Star Ticks are aggressive biters, will attach to humans, and can pass pathogens that may become life-threatening.

7. Pacific coast tick (Dermacentor Occidentalis)

The Pacific Coast tick has a dappled brownish-black color. This tick’s wound is commonly mistaken for the bites of other insects and spiders.

Region: The Pacific Coast tick thrives in the Southwestern U.S. and on the West Coast, ranging from Baja Mexico into Oregon.

Diseases: This tick can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans and pets. It can also transmit Colorado tick fever virus (CTFV), Pacific Coast tick fever (spotted fever Rickettsia 364D), Q fever, Rickettsia philippi (a spotted fever rickettsiosis), and tularemia.

Danger: CTFV, Spotted fevers, Q fever, and tularemia can all become life-threatening.

8. Rocky mountain wood tick (Dermacentor Andersoni)

The Rocky Mountain wood tick is another reddish-brown tick that looks very similar to American dog ticks. The adults have a cream-colored scutum.

Adult ticks feed on large mammals, including humans. Larvae and nymphs feed on small rodents.

Adult Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks can be active from January through November but are most aggressive in late spring and early summer.

Region: Rocky Mountain Wood Ticks are common at elevations of 4,000 to 10,500 feet in the Rocky Mountain states and southwestern Canada.

Diseases: Transmits RMSF, CTVF, Q Fever, and tularemia. The Rocky Mountain wood tick can occasionally cause tick paralysis in humans and pets.

Danger: The Rocky Mountain wood tick can occasionally cause tick paralysis in humans and pets. All of the diseases transmitted by the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick may become life-threatening.

9. Soft ticks (Ornithodoros)

Soft ticks do not have a hard shell. They have the shape of a large raisin.

Soft ticks usually bite humans in rustic cabins when humans are asleep. A person may be unaware of a soft tick bite.

Region: These ticks are a danger in the western half of the U.S.

Disease: Borrelia hermsii and B. turicatae (tick-borne relapsing fever).

Danger: TBRF may become fatal if left untreated.

10. Western blacklegged tick (Ixodes Pacificus)

Western blacklegged tick
Photo Credit: Kaldari / Wikimedia Commons / CC0 1.0

The Western blacklegged tick has a reddish body, a black shield, and black legs.

Nymphs and adult females are the primary cause of pathogen transmissions to humans.

Region: The Western blacklegged tick is common in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah.

Disease: This tick transmits Lyme disease, Borrelia miyamotoi disease (a relapsing fever Borreliosis), babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA). It possibly transmits Bartonella to humans.

Danger: Infections and illnesses from this tick may become life-threatening.

Ask The Experts

Types of Ticks: What do Ticks Look Like?

  • What is the most significant misconception people have about ticks?
  • What is your greatest concern about ticks and their current threat to people?
  • What kind of effect could climate change have on ticks and tick-borne diseases?
  • What is your top tip for preventing tick bites?
Dawn H. Gouge Ph.D.
Medical Entomology Professor & Public Health IPM Specialist
William H. Kern, Jr. Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Sonja L. Swiger, PhD
Professor & Veterinary/Medical Extension Entomologist
Dawn H. Gouge Ph.D.
Medical Entomology Professor & Public Health IPM Specialist
University of Arizona – MAC Experiment Station

What is the most significant misconception people have about ticks?

“We don’t have ticks in (insert any number of locations).”

What is your greatest concern about ticks and their current threat to people?

Disease-causing pathogen vectoring.

What kind of effect could climate change have on ticks and tick-borne diseases?

1. Changing tick species ranges.

2. Alterations in the ecology of pest species that is increasing disease risk.

What is your top tip for preventing tick bites?

Be informed and take precautions.

William H. Kern, Jr. Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Florida, Entomology & Nematology Department, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center

What is the most significant misconception people have about ticks?

All ticks are infected and are vectors of diseases.

The most common tick in suburban neighborhoods and dog parks is the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, which is not known to be an important vector of any diseases to people.

What is your greatest concern about ticks and their current threat to people?

A new invasive tick, the Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, is rapidly spreading through the Eastern U.S. and Southern Canada. It is an all-female, parthenogenic species, so can rapidly reproduce with no males needed. There is some concern that this tick could become a new vector of the Heartland Virus.

The Lone Star tick, Amblyomma americanum, is the most common forest tick in the Southeast U.S., and it can transmit human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), anaplasmosis, and southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). It has also been associated with an immune response in people who have been bitten by this tick causing a food allergy to red meat proteins.

What kind of effect could climate change have on ticks and tick-borne diseases?

With warmer temperatures, tropical ticks may be able to extend their ranges into the continental U.S.

  • The tropical bont tick, Amblyomma variegatum, is a serious livestock pest from Africa that is now widespread in the Caribbean. While not yet found in the continental U.S., it is known to be in Puerto Rico. Its movement from island to island is associated with the migration of cattle egrets.
  • Cattle fever ticks, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, and R. (B.) microplus, are referred to by the USDA as the most dangerous cattle ectoparasites in the United States because they vector bovine babesiosis or cattle fever. These ticks were eliminated from the U.S. during the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program (CFTEP), which began in 1906. The ticks have been coming back across the border from Mexico on white-tailed deer. There is concern that if they escape the Texas quarantine zone, the American cattle industry would be severely impacted again.

Other common tick species in the U.S. include:

What is your top tip for preventing tick bites?

Wearing permethrin-treated clothing when going into fields and forests.

Sonja L. Swiger, PhD
Professor & Veterinary/Medical Extension Entomologist
Texas A&M University, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension

What is the most significant misconception people have about ticks?

That they don’t have them where they live. While being near vegetation and wildlife habitats will increase tick presence, ticks can be found in many locations. We see them in pastureland and in parks within urban or suburban locations.

What is your greatest concern about ticks and their current threat to people?

The greatest concern with ticks is their excellent ability to transmit disease-causing pathogens. Those diseases of concern do vary based on where you live or are located, but tick-borne diseases have grown tenfold in the last decade.

The most impacting tick-borne disease at this time is Lyme disease, which is transmitted by the blacklegged tick and infects 25,000 people annually — but this is typically only in the Northeast and upper Midwest.

In the Southern states, we are seeing an increase in Spotted Fever Rickettsiosis, which is carried by the American dog tick and the brown dog tick.

What kind of effect could climate change have on ticks and tick-borne diseases?

Evidence is showing an expansion of ticks into the North and the West with changing climate patterns. The ticks can move the pathogens further when this happens if the proper hosts are present in those areas.

What is your top tip for preventing tick bites?

The best prevention is avoidance and protection.

If you are going to be outdoors in an area where ticks have been seen or encountered, or where wildlife is known to frequent and there is high vegetation, be aware that ticks could be, and probably are, present.

It is recommended to dress appropriately — in light-colored clothing — so you can spot the ticks. Wear long sleeves and pants, and tuck the pants into your socks if you will be in an area of concern for a lengthy period of time.

Another option is to apply DEET before going into these locations. If you plan to be out in wooded areas or a location with dense vegetation, permethrin-treated clothing could be your best defense. In Texas, where many own cattle, it is important to protect yourself when working cattle or in the pastures as well.

When to Call a Tick Control Pro

Proper tick identification is essential to making informed health decisions.

You also should know how to remove a tick, that you should remove a tick as soon as possible and always seek medical attention when symptoms arise. Ignoring a medical concern may lead to severe, life-threatening complications.

For peace of mind, if you have a tick infestation in your yard, call a tick control professional near you.

Main Image Credit: nechaev-kon / Canva Pro / License

Jane Purnell

Having lived in the rural countryside and bustling city, Jane Purnell is familiar with a wide variety of critters sneaking into the home, including mice, spiders, cockroaches, snakes, and stink bugs. She practices a proactive approach (Integrated Pest Management) to keep pests out of her home.