Content

• Steps
• Warning

Of the more than 80 species of ticks that live in North America, only 7 are capable of transmitting disease to humans through their bite. Deer ticks, also known as black-legged mites (Ixodes scapularis) can transmit Lyme disease and other diseases to the host. Ticks can be identified in adulthood, but right from the pupal stage they are able to transmit the disease. When you are bitten or clung to clothing by a tick, you will need to determine if it is a deer tick so that you can be treated promptly if necessary.

Steps

Method 1 of 2: Look for ticks

1. 

   Remove the tick from the host. The best way to get rid of a tick is to remove the tick using the tweezers, remember to place the tip of the tweezers so that the tip of the tick is also removed with its body. Avoid using old methods like applying vaseline cream or applying nail polish to the tick, as these will shock the tick and it is possible that it will spew things in the stomach (including bacteria) into the tick. dog blood.
   • Did you get the whole tick out? If you tug or twist the tick, its mouth appendages may break and remain in the skin. You can remove these parts separately with a clean tweezers. You can still recognize a tick even if it does not have an appendage to the mouth.
   • Place the tick in a sealed jar or place on a white piece of paper and tape over it.

2. 

   
   
   Identify it as a tick. How many legs does the beetle have? Like other arachnids, mites in the pupal and adult stages have 8 legs, but they only have 6 in the larval stage.
   • If you put the tick in the jar, watch how it moves. If it is a tick, it will crawl, not fly or jump.
   • Ticks have flattened drip-shaped bodies at all stages of development. When full of blood, the tick's body will be round and lighter in color.
   • Deer ticks are smaller than dog mites and "lonely star" ticks. Deer ticks in the pupal stage are usually the size of poppy seeds, about 1-2 mm in diameter, and when mature are about 2-3.5 mm, the size of sesame seeds. When fully drained, the tick can be up to 10 mm long.
   • Hard mites, such as deer ticks, have a "shield" or a shell on the body. Soft ticks do not have this feature.

3. 

   
   
   Check out the tick's "shell". You can use a magnifying glass to observe, because the ticks in the pre-adulthood stages are quite small.
   • The shell is the hard shell behind the tick's head. The shell of the deer ticks has one color, while the shell for other ticks has patterns.
   • The shell also indicates the sex of the tick. Adult male ticks have shells covering most of their bodies, while female mites' shells are much smaller.
   • If the tick is succulent (after eating), it will be difficult to determine by this feature. Succulent deer mites will be rusty or reddish-brown in color, while others can be light gray or greenish gray. The tick's shell alone will not change color.
   advertisement

Method 2 of 2: Distinguish deer ticks from other ticks

1. 

   
   
   Identify ticks by their traces. Adult female deer ticks that don't suck blood will have a bright red-orange body surrounding the black shell. Adult males range in color from dark brown to black.
   • The name "tree tick" is used to refer to a number of different species of ticks, including deer ticks, "lonely star" ticks and American dog mites. All three species of ticks usually live in wooded areas or newly cleared areas and crawl up from the ground. You will need to observe their body marks to tell them apart.
   • Brown dog ticks have brown and white spots on their shells that are absent from deer ticks. The "lonely star" tick has a prominent white star-shaped mark on its shell.
   • The deer tick is about half the size of a brown dog tick, both when it is not sucking blood and when it is nourishing.
   • Brown dog mites rarely attach to humans. However, they are one of the few tick species that can infect your home. As their name suggests, these ticks are often parasitic on dogs and can be found in kennels, around veterinary clinics and outdoor areas where infected animals often retreat. next.

2. 

   Observe the length of the mouth appendage, also known as the tick's "hook". This part looks like a tick's head, but it is the hook that the tick uses to attach to a host and suck blood. The hook consists of two foot-shaped sensory organs that help them detect a host, a pair of blade-shaped sensory organs that allow the tick to pierce the skin, and a pronged organ ("plate under the mouth ") to puncture the hole.
   • The hook for a deer tick is much longer than that of other common ticks, such as dog ticks. The hook for the tick is located on the front and is visible from above.
   • The female deer tick has a hook larger than that of the male. Adult male deer ticks do not suck blood.

3. 

   Pay attention to where you found the tick. Deer ticks are particularly common along the eastern and upper Midwestern regions of the United States, but can also be found as far south as Texas, through Missouri, Kansas, and parts of Oklahoma.
   • Deer ticks are most active during spring, summer, and autumn. However, they can be operated whenever temperatures are higher than freezing. Other ticks, such as dog ticks, are usually most active during the spring and summer months.
   • Adult deer ticks live in places where there are many trees, bushes. They prefer lower shrubs to trees.
   • Western black-legged mites are another form of deer ticks, commonly found in the Pacific Coast, and are particularly active in Northern California. This type of tick rarely attaches to humans.
   advertisement

Warning

• If you suspect that you have been bitten by a deer tick, you should see your doctor immediately for treatment.Lyme disease is often effectively treated if detected early within 2 weeks of infection.
• Deer ticks are most infectious when they are in the pupa stage. Nymphs are much smaller than adult ticks, so they are seldom detected and quickly eliminated.