American dog tick
The American dog tick is a small, flat crawler that drinks blood. It waits in long grass and bushes and climbs onto dogs and people who walk by. It is a cousin of spiders, so a grown-up tick has eight legs.
Ticks: how to stay safe
- In Estonia, the castor bean tick and the taiga tick can carry Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.
- Ticks wait on grass stems, from ankle to knee height. Long trousers tucked into socks and light clothes help you spot them.
- After playing outside, check your body, your hair and your pets for ticks.
- Found a tick? A grown-up should take it out quickly with fine tweezers or a tick tool: hold it close to the skin and pull slowly. No oil or alcohol on it. Then wash the spot.
- There is a vaccine against tick-borne encephalitis, for children too from one year old. Ask your doctor.
- If in the weeks after a bite you get a fever, feel ill or see a red patch that grows, go to a doctor.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
A baby tick has only six legs. It gets its last two legs when it grows into the next stage.
A tick has to hold on for hours before it can pass on an illness, so taking it off early really helps.
It likes to feed on the same kind of animal all its life.
Ticks do not like short, dry grass. Mowing the lawn keeps fewer ticks around.
Most asked questions about American dog tick
?How do I keep ticks away from my dog?
Check your dog and yourself after walks in grass or woods, and ask a vet about tick collars or drops.
?Is a tick an insect?
No. A grown-up tick has eight legs, so it is a relative of spiders.
Myth buster
Myth: Every tick gives you Lyme disease.
Truth: No. The American dog tick is not good at spreading Lyme disease. It can carry other illnesses, though, so it is still smart to check for ticks.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Dermacentor variabilis
- Group
- Scorpions, ticks and friends
- Family
- Ixodidae
- Classification
- Arachnida > Ixodida > Ixodidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Wood tick
Where the facts come from
- Dermacentor variabilis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Sam Droege. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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