{"id":738525,"date":"2026-07-02T08:12:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/738525\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:12:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T08:12:19","slug":"guide-how-to-identify-some-of-the-most-common-ticks-in-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/738525\/","title":{"rendered":"Guide: How to identify some of the most common ticks in America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here are some tips from Dr. Andrew Handel, pediatric infectious disease physician at Stony Brook Children\u2019s Hospital, on how people can prevent and treat tick bites.<\/p>\n

As awareness of tickborne diseases increases, it’s important to know which ticks can cause these diseases, where you can find them and how to identify them.<\/p>\n

Illnesses like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and alpha-gal syndrome seem to be becoming more and more common as understanding of these sicknesses rise with time and the number of cases.<\/p>\n

PLANNING ON BEING OUTSIDE? HERE’S HOW TO CHECK AND PROTECT YOURSELF FROM TICKS<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"\/ <\/p>\n

Infected ticks warning sign in a forest. Risk of tick-borne and lyme disease.<\/p>\n

(24K-Production \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Ticks can be found year-round, but their peak season of activity runs from April to September when it’s warm outside.<\/p>\n

Blacklegged or ‘deer’ tick<\/p>\n

The blacklegged tick, also called the deer tick, is commonly found in the eastern half of the U.S.<\/a>, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A photo of Ixodes scapularis (blacklegged tick)<\/p>\n

(CDC \/ FOX Weather)<\/p>\n

The blacklegged tick can be identified by its reddish-orange body and black “shield” on its back, along with black legs.<\/p>\n

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These ticks can cause a number of illnesses in humans, including:<\/p>\n

AnaplasmosisBabesiosisEhrlichiosis due to Ehrlichia muris eauclairensisLyme diseaseBorrelia miyamotoi diseasePowassan virus diseaseAmerican dog tick\u00a0<\/p>\n

The American dog tick is found widely east of the Rocky Mountains, and in limited areas west of the Rocky Mountains, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

These ticks have dark brown bodies and legs with adult females having an off-white colored “shield” on their backs. The male ticks have more of a mottled appearance on their shields, according to LymeDisease.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"A <\/p>\n

A photo of Dermacentor variabilis (American Dog tick).<\/p>\n

(CDC)<\/p>\n

American dog ticks are known to transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia.<\/p>\n

Lone star tick\u00a0<\/p>\n

The lone star tick is found widely across the Midwest<\/a>, Southeast<\/a> and Northeast<\/a>, mainly prevalent in the South.<\/p>\n

This tick has a reddish-brown body and legs, with females having a white spot or “lone star” on their back.<\/p>\n

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Lone star ticks are known to aggressively bite, and their saliva can be irritating, causing redness and discomfort at the bite site, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A photo of Amblyomma americanum (Lone star tick).<\/p>\n

(FOX Weather)<\/p>\n

These ticks can cause a number of illnesses in humans, including:<\/p>\n

Ehrlichiosis due to Ehrlichiosis chaffeensis and Ehrlichiosis ewingiiHeartland virus diseaseSouthern tick-associated rash illness (STARI)Bourbon virus diseaseTularemia<\/p>\n

Additionally, it’s believed that a lone star tick bite can cause a delayed red meat allergy called alpha-gal syndrome, which can be life-threatening in some cases.<\/p>\n

Western blacklegged tick\u00a0<\/p>\n

The western blacklegged tick is mostly found on the Pacific Coast, mostly in California<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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These ticks have a reddish body with a black shield and black legs.<\/p>\n

\"Ixodes <\/p>\n

Ixodes pacificus (Western blacklegged tick).<\/p>\n

(CDC)<\/p>\n

Western blacklegged ticks can transmit Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and Borrelia miyamotoi (hard tick relapsing fever), according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

Rocky Mountain wood tick<\/p>\n

The Rocky Mountain wood tick is found in Rocky Mountains states in the Northwestern U.S. at elevations of 4,000 feet to 10,500 feet, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

These ticks look very similar to American dog ticks, with reddish-brown bodies and legs. Male Rocky Mountain wood ticks have a cream-colored shield.<\/p>\n

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\"Photo <\/p>\n

Photo of a Dermacentor andersoni (Rocky Mountain wood tick).<\/p>\n

(CDC \/ FOX Weather)<\/p>\n

Rocky Mountain wood ticks transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado<\/a> tick fever and tularemia.<\/p>\n

According to LymeDisease.org, the saliva of the Rocky Mountain wood tick contains a neurotoxin that can occasionally cause tick paralysis in humans and pets. The toxin can take anywhere from 24 to 72 hours to dissipate after the tick is removed.<\/p>\n

Brown dog tick\u00a0<\/p>\n

The brown dog tick is found all over the world, including everywhere in the U.S.<\/p>\n

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These ticks are reddish brown-bodied with brown legs and a brown shield and have a narrower body than most ticks. Dogs are the primary hosts for these ticks, but they can bite humans and other animals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A photo of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (brown dog tick).<\/p>\n

(CDC)<\/p>\n

Brown dog ticks can transmit a number of diseases to dogs. They can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever to humans.<\/p>\n

Gulf Coast tick\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Gulf Coast tick is primarily found in the Southeastern U.S., with smaller populations in the Midwest, Northeast and Southwest<\/a>, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

These ticks have reddish brown bodies with light-colored legs and a cream-colored shield.<\/p>\n

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\"A <\/p>\n

A photo of Amblyomma maculatum (Gulf Coast tick).<\/p>\n

(CDC)<\/p>\n

Gulf Coast ticks can transmit a form of spotted fever called Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis to humans.<\/p>\n

Asian longhorned tick\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Asian longhorned tick is native to China, Japan, the Russian Far East and the Korean Peninsula, according to the Mayo Clinic<\/a>.<\/p>\n

However, the species has been found in several U.S.<\/a> states since first being documented in the country in 2017.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A photo of the Haemaphysalis longicornis (Asian longhorned tick).<\/p>\n

(CDC \/ FOX Weather)<\/p>\n

These ticks have large brown bodies and legs.<\/p>\n

According to the CDC, compared with well-known native ticks, the Asian longhorned tick appears to be less attracted to humans. But in other countries, it can pass along pathogens to humans.<\/p>\n

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The CDC said tests are still ongoing to see if humans in the U.S. can be impacted by a bite from this tick.<\/p>\n

For more information about ticks and their impacts in the U.S., visit the CDC website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here are some tips from Dr. Andrew Handel, pediatric infectious disease physician at Stony Brook Children\u2019s Hospital, on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":738526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[97,70506,7221,93027,42370,6632,14030,19769,38782,230006,2316,25,238031,22192,201],"class_list":["post-738525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-health","tag-midwest","tag-nature","tag-northeast","tag-northwest","tag-outdoors","tag-southeast","tag-southwest","tag-spring","tag-stay22","tag-summer","tag-us","tag-us-regions","tag-west","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=738525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/738525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/738526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=738525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=738525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=738525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}