Tick Identifier: What Kind of Tick Is This?

Start with what you can see: the legs (8 on adults and nymphs, 6 on tiny larvae, never antennae), the shield behind the head (solid dark, one white dot, silvery mottling or plain), and the size against a seed. Then add where you were and the season, because each tick lives in its own range (CDC). The six questions above score those clues. To be sure, send a sharp photo to a free service such as TickSpotters or, in Canada, eTick.ca.

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Yes. TickSpotters, run by the University of Rhode Island’s TickEncounter program, identifies a tick from your photo and a few questions, free, usually within 24 hours. In Canada, eTick.ca, which PHAC points readers to, does the same for free and aims to answer within one to two business days. Photograph the back and the underside in bright light, with a ruler or coin beside the tick, and keep the tick for at least 5 days in case more photos are needed (eTick).

In North America, Lyme disease is spread by blacklegged (deer) ticks in the East and western blacklegged ticks on the Pacific Coast (CDC; PHAC). An adult female has a red-orange body behind a dark brown shield and black legs, and is about the size of a sesame seed; the male is all dark, and the nymph, the size of a poppy seed, is see-through to slightly gray or brown (Ohio State; Illinois Department of Public Health; CDC). CDC says lone star, American dog, Rocky Mountain wood and brown dog ticks cannot transmit Lyme disease bacteria.

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Spider beetles, weevils, bed bugs, stink bug nymphs, deer keds and clover mites are common ones (University of Rhode Island; Utah Department of Health). The quick test is the legs: insects have 6 legs and antennae, while adult ticks have 8 legs and no antennae. Clover mites have 8 legs too, but they are reddish, much smaller than a tick and feed on plants, not people (Utah Department of Health; Penn State Extension). About 1 in 20 photos sent to TickSpotters as ticks turn out to be look-alikes.

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A fed tick swells and often turns gray, which hides its colors (Ohio State). Look at the shield behind the head: an American dog tick’s shield does not grow as she feeds, and its white marks stay visible (Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station). If you still cannot tell, keep the tick and send a photo for identification. CDC says a swollen tick carries a higher Lyme risk than a flat one, so if it could be a blacklegged tick and you were bitten where Lyme disease is common, call a doctor within 72 hours of removing it.

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A single white or silvery dot in the middle of the back marks an adult female lone star tick (CDC); males have faint white marks along the rear edge instead (Ohio State; Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station). Lone star ticks bite people readily, can spread ehrlichiosis and tularemia, and their bites are linked to alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to red meat (CDC). They turn up in Canada but are not known to be established there (PHAC; Public Health Ontario).

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Usually nymphs, the stage between larva and adult. Blacklegged nymphs are about the size of a poppy seed, and CDC calls them a particularly high Lyme risk because they are numerous and hard to see. Even tinier ticks with 6 legs, often dozens at once in late summer, are larvae, called seed ticks, such as blacklegged or lone star larvae (University of Rhode Island). Lift loose ones off with tape and remove attached ones with tweezers.

More: Seed Ticks: What Baby Ticks Look Like and How to Remove Dozens at Once

CDC does not generally recommend it: a positive result does not necessarily mean you are infected, a negative one can give false reassurance, and you should not wait for a result if you feel ill. PHAC adds that tick testing is not meant to guide diagnosis or treatment, and that a health care provider can consider preventive treatment without it. Getting the tick identified is more useful, and it is free through TickSpotters or eTick.ca.

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Ticks that have not attached yet may wash off: CDC says showering within two hours of coming indoors lowers the risk of Lyme disease and is a good time for a tick check. An attached tick will not wash off and has to be pulled out with fine-tipped tweezers. CDC also advises tumble-drying clothes on high heat for 10 minutes to kill ticks on dry clothing.

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One can: the brown dog tick can spend its whole life indoors where dogs live, and ticks crawling up walls or curtains are often the first sign (UF/IFAS). In Canada it has been found only indoors, in kennels and homes with dogs (PHAC). Other ticks ride in on clothes and pets but do not settle: American dog ticks will not become established indoors (Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station), and homes are too dry for lone star ticks to survive long (University of Kentucky).

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