Brown Dog Tick
Physical Features
Brown Dog Ticks are arachnids so they have eight legs and two body parts. Their elongated bodies are red-brown in color and 1/8 inch long. Engorged females grow to 1/2 inch long and 1/4 inch wide and turn gray-blue to olive colored. Larval ticks only have six legs. Ticks have a hexagonal shaped connection (capituli) at the head and body joint. They also have two mouthparts: backward shaped teeth to open skin and make holes, and piercing sucking mouthparts to draw blood.
Life Cycle
Gradual metamorphosis
Develop from egg, larva, nymph to an adult. Adult females will lay 1,000 to 3,000 eggs after engorging on dog’s blood. Eggs hatch in 19-60 days and can be found in the house around baseboards, window and door casings, curtains, furniture and edges of rugs. The larva hatch and have six legs. They will attach to dog for 3-6 days, turns bluish in color, and drop back to floor. 6-23 days later it will molt into the nymph form, which is eight legged, reddish-brown, and also attaches to dog host to feed. It molts into adult form within 12-19 days. Adult seeks blood meal then crawls upwards to cracks and crevices in ceilings or wall hangings to lay eggs. The female dies shortly after depositing eggs. Unengorged adults can live up to 200 days without a blood meal. These adults will hide in cracks and crevices until they feed.
Habits
- Diet: Blood
- Activity: When ready to feed or lay eggs.
- Preferred Climate: Warmer climate.
- Defense: Small unnoticeable size
- Cautions: Will attach to other available animals including humans, they are most attracted to dogs. Pet may act irritable. Carry diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and tick paralysis.
- Home Invasion: Pets will carry in ticks from outdoors. The ticks will hide in cracks and crevices until they feed.
Helpful Hints for Control
- Keep dogs off natural paths and other landscape transition zones where ticks may be found.
- Treating the pet completed by the pet owner or a veterinarian.
- Cleaning areas that pet frequents.
- Recommend regular pest control service plan.
Interesting Fact
Remove a tick from the point of entry (where the mouthparts attach to the skin) by firmly and steadily pulling directly outward without twisting. Put removed tick in alcohol to kill it. Clean the bite with disinfectant.
Symptoms
It is not the tick bite but the toxins, secretions, or organisms in the tick’s saliva transmitted through the bite that causes disease.
