14 Ticks Species Found in the United States! (w/ PICS)

What kinds of ticks are found in the United States?

Common Ticks in United States

First, let’s get all the myths out of the way. Ticks do not fly, leap or fall from trees! They don’t even have eyes and must wait for a host to pass by. Just imagine waiting for food to cross your path before you can eat.

Ticks have three life stages as they grow: the larval stage, nymph stage, and adult stage. It’s important to know that most ticks will feed in all stages. Therefore, you could contract a disease from any tick you come across. Please obtain medical advice if you have been bitten to see what they recommend! If possible, it is beneficial to capture the tick that has bitten you because it may aid in the treatment.

14 types of ticks in the United States:


#1. Rabbit Tick

  • Haemaphysalis leporispalustris

Types of Ticks found in United States

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adults are tan to reddish-tan. Females are darker on the body and larger than males.
  • Also known as the Grouse Tick.

The Rabbit Tick is found in forested habitats, including coniferous, deciduous, and mixed forests in the United States. This tick is found from spring through summer. However, in the fall, their numbers significantly decline.

Rabbit Tick Range Map

Rabbit tick rang map

The Rabbit Tick is considered a three-host tick, which means it feeds on a different host animal at each stage of its life. Because of the name, it should not be surprising that adults prefer to feed on rabbits. They are typically found on the back of or between the ears or on their neck. Immature Rabbit Ticks feed on ground-dwelling birds and other small mammals.

Rabbit Ticks can be infected with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, a severe tick-borne illness with a mortality rate of over 20% if not treated early. They can also transmit Tularemia which typically infects the rabbit and rodent populations.

But here’s the good news:

Rabbit Ticks usually don’t feed on humans, and the disease transmission to humans is rare. Thank goodness!


#2. Winter Tick

  • Dermacentor albipictus

Ticks species that live in United States

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adult females are reddish-brown with a creamy white shield on their backs behind their heads.
  • Adult males are dark brown with a crosshatch pattern on their backs.
  • Also known as the Moose Tick.

The Winter Tick is found in various habitats but has an abundance of populations where large hoofed animals are present in the United States. This tick is a one-host tick, which means it feeds on the same individual during all three life stages. Therefore, it’s most frequently found in fall and winter.

Winter Tick Range Map

winter tick range map

Ticks do not have eyes, so they can’t be picky about what meal presents itself. So, sometimes dogs, beavers, black bears, and coyotes are incidental hosts for Winter Ticks. Luckily, they rarely bite and don’t feed on humans.

This tick is not found to carry diseases, but heavy infestations can cause complications for their hosts. Large numbers of ticks result in severe anemia, skin irritation, hair loss, a distraction from feeding, and even death.

Interestingly, deer and other mammals can easily remove ticks when grooming, but moose cannot. In recent years, moose have been found completely covered with Winter Ticks. Surprisingly, one single moose can be covered in over 100,000 Winter Ticks, leading to the moose’s death. Check out this video below to learn more!

YouTube video

#3. Brown Dog Tick

  • Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Both sexes are reddish-brown and have an elongated body shape.
  • Males only take small blood meals while females can take large meals, which makes them increase dramatically in size.
  • Also known as the Kennel Tick.

The Brown Dog Tick can be found year-round in the United States. They are mainly located where there are domestic dogs since that is their favorite host. So that means pretty much everywhere! 🙂

Brown Dog Tick Range Map

brown dog tick range map

Unlike other ticks in the United States, the Brown Dog Tick’s lifecycle can be completed indoors. Therefore, this tick species is often found in homes.

The Brown Dog Tick is considered the most widespread tick species in the United States!

But luckily, it doesn’t typically bite humans. However, when they do, they have been known to transmit the bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, a severe tick-borne illness with a mortality rate of over 20% if not treated early. Symptoms include high fever, chills, muscle aches, headaches, and sometimes a rash. For transmission to occur, however, the tick must be attached for at least six hours.

Brown Dog Ticks can also transmit diseases to dogs, such as Canine Ehrlichiosis or Canine Babesiosis. So if you see odd symptoms after finding a tick on your dog, make sure to get it to a veterinarian.


#4. American Dog Tick

  • Dermacentor variabilis

 

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Dark reddish-brown body. Flat and oval-shaped with brown and creamy white markings.
  • Females have a cream-colored shield.
  • Males are more speckled all over.

Like most ticks, the American Dog Tick prefers wooded habitats and grassy areas with low vegetation where larger mammals commonly pass. They are commonly found in urban areas around dogs and people.

American Dog Tick Range Map

american dog tick range map

The American Dog Tick prefers dogs as its host. Look for them on the dog’s head, ears, back, between the toes, or armpit.

This might surprise you, but the American Dog Tick can live up to two to three years without a host to feed upon. That is pretty amazing!

The American Dog Tick has been known to transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever to humans, a severe tick-borne illness with a mortality rate of over 20% if not treated early. They also transmit Tularemia to humans as well. Symptoms include an ulcer at the bite site, fever, chills, and tender lymph nodes.

This tick can transmit Canine Tick Paralysis to dogs which can cause paralytic symptoms such as instability and loss of reflexes. In addition, if the tick is not removed, it can cause respiratory failure, which could be fatal.

Such paralysis is not limited to dogs; it can happen to children as well. The good news is once the tick is removed, recovery is usually within one to two days. But, unfortunately, the fatality rate is about 10%, and most were children. Check out this video about the American Dog Tick.

YouTube video

#5. Groundhog Tick

  • Ixodes cookei

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adult males are dark reddish-brown on their backs.
  • Adult females are lighter tan and have a dark brown shield by their heads.
  • Also known as the Woodchuck Tick.

The Groundhog Tick is mainly found in or around the dens or nests of its hosts. They primarily feed on groundhogs and other small mammals, including raccoons, foxes, weasels, skunks, porcupines, dogs, and cats. They can also feed on several bird species, including robins.

Luckily, they rarely feed on humans!

Groundhog Tick Range Map

ground hog tick range map

These ticks are active during the summer months, with numbers peaking in July. Their life cycle depends on environmental conditions and host availability. They can survive a year or more without a blood meal!

Groundhog Ticks are not known to transmit Lyme Disease. However, they do transmit Powassan Virus, which can lead to an infection in the brain and be deadly.


#6. Eastern Blacklegged Tick

  • Ixodes scapularis

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adult males are dark brown or black with a light grayish-tan band around their abdomens.
  • Adult females are reddish-orange on the shield with black legs, which is how they got their name.
  • Also known as the Deer Tick, Black-legged Tick, or Bear Tick.

The Eastern Blacklegged Tick is the primary Lyme Disease carrier in the United States. They are found in wooded brushy areas home to mammals such as mice, deer, and others. Look for these ticks in low vegetation or shrubs.

Eastern Blacklegged Tick Range Map

eastern blacklegged tick range map

In each stage of life, the tick is mobile and able to feed on humans or animals.

  • Larvae prefer birds and mice.
  • Nymphs will attach to any mammal that walks, including humans.
  • Adult ticks prefer the White-tailed Deer but will feed on coyotes, humans, or other mammals.

Eastern Blacklegged Ticks can transmit Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, and Powassan Virus.

They are extremely slow feeders and usually feed for three to five days at a time. If a tick is infected with a disease, on average, it takes 24-48 hours before it transmits the disease to the host. But it has been shown to only be 16 hours in some cases. So the bottom line is that the longer the tick is attached and feeds, the greater the likelihood of transmitting a disease.

The nymphal stage tick is the most dangerous to humans because it is around the size of a poppy seed and rarely detected until after it has attached and engorged itself. Unfortunately, if the tick is infected, it’s most likely already transmitted the disease before it’s discovered.

YouTube video

#7. Lone Star Tick

  • Amblyomma americanum

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Round bodied tick.  Colors can range from reddish-brown to tan.
  • Adult females have a single white spot on their backs.
  • Adult males have white markings on their legs and around their abdomens.
  • Also known as Cricker Tick, Turkey Tick, or Northeastern Water Tick.

The Lone Star Tick prefers dry forested areas with shrub undergrowth along rivers or streams near animal resting sites.

Lone Star Tick

lone star tick range map

This tick is a three-host tick that has a different host for every stage in their life. They will feed on a wide variety of hosts during each stage, but they feed on humans in every stage. The most common host for the adult Lone Star Tick is the White-tailed Deer.

The Lone Star Tick can transmit many diseases such a Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Ehrlichiosis, Tularemia, Heartland Virus, Bourbon Virus, and Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI). Fortunately, Lyme disease is not common in this species.

Believe it or not, Lone Star Ticks can transmit Alpha-gal, which is a meat allergy. The tick transmits the allergy while feeding on the person, which causes the person to have a delayed response after eating meat or meat products, which causes anaphylaxis. This is a life-threatening allergic reaction with constriction of airways and a drop in blood pressure. Talk about leaving a long-lasting impression!


#8. Gulf Coast Tick

  • Amblyomma maculatum

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Larva and nymph are creamy-white with a reddish-brown speckled back.
  • Adult males are copper brown with dark reddish-brown speckled backs.
  • Adult females are dark reddish back with cream-colored shields and copper legs.

The Gulf Coast Tick is mainly found in the United States in open or grassy fields and on edges of wooded areas. The shade of the canopy cover provides an optimal climate for the ticks when they are not on a host.

Gulf Coast Tick Range Map

gulf coast tick range map

This tick is most commonly active between June and September, where they feed on a variety of birds and mammals, including humans.

Adult ticks primarily attach their barbed mouthparts to their host’s ears for feeding. However, they have been known to cluster feed where many ticks cluster around the poor unfortunate host’s ears which causes tissue damage. The name for this condition is called Gotch Ear, which is seen in young calves. This condition makes the calves’ ears droop, and it is known to affect the sale value of these calves at the market.

The Gulf Coast Tick can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Rickettsia Parkeri, and Tick Paralysis in humans. In animals, this tick can transmit Canine Hepatozoonosis, Leptospirosis, Heartwater, and Tick Paralysis.


#9. Rocky Mountain Wood Tick

  • Dermacentor andersoni

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Bright reddish teardrop-shaped body.
  • Adult females have a white shield.
  • Adult males have gray and white spots on their bodies.

You will typically find the Rocky Mountain Wood Tick in the United States in higher elevation habitats, including meadows, shrubs, and lightly wooded areas. They sit in low-growing vegetation around trails and grasslands, waiting for larger animals to pass by to feed on them.

Rocky Mountain Wood Tick Range Map

rocky mountain wood tick range map

This tick’s larvae and nymphs feed on small rodents, while adult ticks feed primarily on large mammals, including humans.

The adult Rocky Mountain Wood Tick can go up to two years without feeding on a host. That’s a long time to wait for a meal!

The common diseases transmitted by this tick are Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Colorado Tick Fever, Anaplasmosis, Tularemia, and Tick Paralysis. Luckily, male ticks are not known to transmit infections.


#10. Cayenne Tick

  • Amblyomma cajennense

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adult females are dark reddish-brown with a tan shield and dark edge around their abdomens.
  • Adult males are dark reddish-brown with tan speckled patterns on their bodies and light tan around the edges of their bodies.

Adults have the longest mouthparts of most ticks in the United States.

Cayenne Tick Range Map

cayenne tick range map

The Cayenne Tick prefers to feed on horses. But when in the nymph stage, they are found more in wooded areas where they feed on birds or other livestock. Luckily, they rarely attach themselves to humans.

This species carries Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Theileria equi, which are typically transmitted to horses.


#11. Asian Longhorned Tick

  • Haemaphysalis longicornis

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adult males’ bodies are reddish-brown and yellowish and have a yellowish edge around their bodies.
  • Adult females’ bodies are reddish-brown with dark brown markings.
  • Also known as Longhorned Tick, Bush Tick, Asian Tick, and Cattle Tick.

The Asian Longhorned Tick is native to Asia but made its way to North America in 2017, first discovered on a sheep farm. Efforts to eradicate them failed, and now they are an established invasive species.

Asian Longhorned Tick Range Map

asian longhorn tick range map

This tick can reproduce sexually or by an asexual process called parthenogenesis (a natural form of reproduction where an embryo forms without fertilization by sperm.) So it is not surprising that they couldn’t eradicate them.

The Asian Longhorned Tick is a blood-sucking external parasite of many different hosts. They are found in mammals, birds, and even humans. However, they are often seen on farm animals such as cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and chickens.

This tick can transmit Theileriosis to cattle which causes significant blood loss and sometimes death in calves. It also decreases milk production in cows and wool quantity and quality in sheep.

This species can also transmit human diseases such as Lyme Spirochetes, Rickettsiae, Russian Spring-summer Encephalitis, Powassan Virus, Tick-borne Encephalitis Virus, Japanese Spotted Fever, and severe fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome.


#12. Soft ticks

  • Argasidae

soft tick pictures

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Unlike hard ticks, soft ticks have more rounded bodies and lack an external jaw.
  • Size and color vary greatly. Mouthparts are not visible and they feed at night.
  • Soft ticks encompass the entire family of Argasidae. 

There are 193 species of soft ticks – far too many to list separately! Their mouth is located on the underside of their abdomen, hidden from view.

Soft ticks don’t wait for a host to walk by like hard ticks; instead, they live in rodent burrows and feed on the host while they sleep. It sounds more like a blood-sucking vampire! 🙂

Soft Tick Range Map

soft ticks range map

Unfortunately, humans can come in contact with soft ticks if they sleep in a rodent-infested cabin. Yikes!

Another hair-raising fact is that these species’ bites are painless, and the ticks can feed in less than one hour. As a result, most people are unaware that they’ve even been bitten.

Soft ticks can transmit Tick-borne Relapsing Fever to humans or pets. The symptoms may include a sudden fever, chills, headaches, muscle or joint aches, and nausea. A rash may also occur. These symptoms usually continue for two to nine days, then disappear. However, this cycle may continue for several weeks if the person is not treated.


#13. Western Blacklegged Tick

  • Ixodes pacificus

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adult males are oval-shaped and brownish-black.
  • Adult females are brown and black on their backs and orangeish-brown on their abdomens. Their mouthparts also stick out more than males.
  • Also known as the Western Deer Tick.

The Western Blacklegged Tick is mainly found in deciduous forests and shrubbery on the edges of forests. You will rarely see them in open fields and grassy areas.

Western Blacklegged Tick Range Map

western blacklegged tick range map

This tick is typically found on wild rodents, other mammals, and humans. But luckily, male Western Blacklegged Ticks are not known to transmit any infections. It’s the girls you have to watch out for!

The diseases transmitted by females are Lyme Disease, Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, and Powassan Virus.

Check out this video on how the Western Blacklegged Tick finds its host.

YouTube video

#14. Pacific Coast Tick

  • Dermacentor occidentalis

Identifying Characteristics:

  • Adult males are dark speckled brown with reddish-brown.
  • Adult females are dark reddish-brown and black with a creamy white and black shields.

The Pacific Coast Tick is found in open fields and shrubs in the western United States.

Pacific Coast Range Map

pacific coast tick range map

This tick prefers to attach itself to livestock or larger animals, such as deer and dogs. They usually don’t feed on humans.

Pacific Coast Ticks can transmit Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, 364D Rickettsiosis, Tularemia, Anaplasmosis, and Tick Paralysis.


Do you need additional help identifying ticks?

Try this field guide!


Which of these ticks have you seen in the United States?

Leave a comment below!

Many of the tick pictures above are from Ticksafety.com. It’s an excellent resource for learning more about ticks and how to stay safe!


Check out my other guides about animals in the United States!

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