What Do Ticks Look Like?

Need to get rid of ticks? Read on to learn the answers to all of your important questions. Need help? Call our professionals today to get started.

What Are Ticks?

Ticks are small, parasitic arthropods (invertebrates with exoskeletons) that live in various places in North America. There are over 900 tick species around the world and about 90 that live in the United States. A handful of the tick species in the United States harbor and transmit infectious diseases through their bite. 

The incidence of tick borne disease is on the rise in the United States and the need to be more vigilant about tick-related safety has risen accordingly. 

The Tick Life Cycle

Ticks travel through 4 stages in their life cycle: egg, larva, nymph and adult tick. Tick larvae are typically about the size of a poppy seed (less than 1 millimeter in length). Nymph ticks grow to somewhere between 1 to 2 millimeters in length, or about the size of a pinhead. Fully grown, adult ticks can range anywhere between 2 to 6 millimeters long if they haven’t eaten recently and can grow up to 10 millimeters in length if they’ve just eaten a blood meal. Commonly, male ticks are smaller than their female counterparts. 

What Do Ticks Look Like?

If you have found a tick that hasn’t fed in a while, it will most likely have a flattened oval or tear-dropped shape. They are wingless and have no antennae. After a blood meal, a tick will be plump and round, almost like a tiny balloon. After eating, many species of tick change color. 

Immature ticks in the larvae and nymph stage have only 6 legs. After reaching full maturation, they grow two additional legs for a total of 8 legs. Ticks come in a variety of colors and markings depending on their species. 

Find A Pest Specialist For Tick Control

If you are concerned about tick control for your home, please give us a call or fill out the form on this page. PestControlExperts.com is a team of experts who are highly qualified to provide the best recommendations for you and your home, no matter which part of the United States you live in.