Ticks

Blacklegged ticks follow what entomologists call the 2-3-4 rule: a two-year life cycle, three separate hosts, four life stages. The western blacklegged tick takes about three years. Each mobile stage feeds once, on a different animal, which matters because a tick picks up a pathogen at the larval or nymphal stage and passes it on later. That is exactly why a poppy-seed-sized nymph is the one to worry about.

Count the legs

Ticks are arachnids, not insects. Larvae have six legs. Nymphs and adults have eight. If you count six, you are looking at a larva.

Size is the thing worth remembering

A nymph is about the size of a poppy seed, an adult about the size of a sesame seed. That is small enough to be missed on skin entirely, and the nymph is the stage most likely to be carrying something.

They cannot fly and they cannot jump

Ticks do not drop out of trees, whatever you have been told. They climb to the tips of grasses and shrubs and wait, in a posture entomologists call questing, with the front legs held out ready to grab onto whatever brushes past.

They pick their spot deliberately

Ticks identify well-used paths and wait along them. They find you by sensing breath and body odor, body heat, moisture and vibration, and some species can even register a shadow passing.

The tick itself

The sign is the tick itself, so the habit that matters is checking after every outing rather than watching for something around the house. Check under the arms, in and around the ears, inside the belly button, the back of the knees, in and around the hair, between the legs, and around the waist.

Then watch for symptoms for a few weeks

If you develop symptoms within a few weeks of a bite, see a doctor. Fever and chills are the common thread, since every tickborne disease can cause fever. Aches and pains follow, including headache, fatigue and muscle aches, with joint pain in Lyme disease.

Rash is the other signal

Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, tularemia and STARI can all produce distinctive rashes. Lyme's has a name worth knowing, erythema migrans.

One symptom almost nobody knows about

Tick paralysis is caused by a toxin in the saliva of an attached tick. It produces weakness or paralysis that creeps up the body and can look like other neurological conditions. Removing the tick usually resolves it, with movement typically returning within 24 hours.

Alpha-gal is a different kind of sign

Alpha-gal syndrome is a different kind of sign. It is a real allergy to red meat and other mammal products that can develop after a tick bite, most often from a lone star tick. In the U.S. it is concentrated in the South, East and Central states, matching lone star tick range. See the Lone Star Tick page for the full picture.

How to remove a tick

Grasp it as close to the skin as possible with clean fine-tipped tweezers and pull straight up with steady, even pressure. Do not twist. Never use petroleum jelly, heat, or nail polish to try to make it let go, since that can push infected fluid into the skin instead of stopping it. Clean the bite site and your hands afterward with soap and water or rubbing alcohol.

Do not wait to remove it

Do not wait for a doctor's appointment to remove an attached tick. Waiting increases your risk of developing a tickborne disease. Watch for fever or rash over the following weeks and call a doctor if either appears.

Choosing a repellent

Look for EPA-registered products containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus, para-menthane-diol, or 2-undecanone. Apply sunscreen first, repellent second. Skip Oil of Lemon Eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products on children under three.

Treat clothing and gear

Products with 0.5% permethrin, or clothing that comes pretreated, stay protective through several washes. After coming indoors, ten minutes in a hot dryer kills any ticks riding along. Cold or medium heat will not do it.

Shower within two hours

Shower and do a body check within two hours of coming inside. A prompt shower is linked to a lower risk of Lyme disease and may help with other tickborne diseases, and it is a natural moment to do a full body check.

Manage the yard, not just the trail

Keep to the center of trails and stay off tall grass and leaf litter when you are outdoors. Around the house, clear leaf litter, cut back brush at the lawn's edge, keep a wood chip or gravel barrier between lawn and woods, and mow regularly.

Your local calendar

Adjust the season to where you live. In the Northeast, adult deer ticks are questing from October to May. In the Pacific Northwest the western blacklegged tick runs roughly November to June. In California and much of the Southeast the risk is year round. Protecting yourself only in July is protecting yourself for the wrong months.

What a pro can and cannot do

A tick bite is a medical matter first: remove it, then watch for symptoms. Treatment around a property targets tick habitat and pressure, particularly the vegetated edges where they wait. It does not replace personal checks, and any company suggesting otherwise is overselling.