Order: Acari

Family: Ixodidae

Deer ticks are so named because of their preferred host, the White-tailed Deer. They also are referred to as "Blacklegged Ticks" because of their dark legs which are in stark contrast to their paler body. The Deer Tick has received attention because they are vectors of the debilitating Lyme disease.

Description: An adult un-engorged Deer Tick is approximately 1/16-1/8 of an inch long. Their eight legged, oval-shaped body does not have a hard shell. Their color ranges from an orangish-brown to a dark reddish-brown.

Biology: Adult ticks feed during the winter, preferably on the white-tailed deer. Shortly after they mate, the male dies and the female remains on the host. In the spring, the female drops off the host and lays approximately 3,000 eggs. Once her eggs have been deposited, the female dies.

Habits: It is in transitional areas, where mowed grass meets an un-mowed line or a forest meets a field, that Deer ticks climb tall grasses and shrubs waiting for a passing host.

Lyme disease can incur life-long physical complications. Take caution when you enter an area prone to deer.

According to the NPCA Field Guide to Structural Pests, (Smith, E. & R. Whitman) the proper method for Tick-removal is as follows:

The best way to remove a tick found attached to a person or pet is to firmly grasp it with a pair of tweezers as close to the skin as possible. Pull firmly but gently backwards until the tick pulls free. Do not touch the tick, but save it in rubbing alcohol for later identification.