Wood Tick vs. Deer Tick
There are quite a few different types of ticks, but two main ones that seem to take over everywhere are the deer tick and the wood tick. There are two main species of tick, so the likelihood you brought one of them home is high if you took an afternoon hike on a sunny day.
The Deer Tick, also known as the Blacklegged Tick, is one of the most common ticks, and is not one you want to meet because it can transmit Lyme disease to humans and animals with its bite. Their scientific name is Lxodes Scapularis, and they like to hang out in tall grass, wooded areas, the edges of forests and in shrubs.
This type of tick has three stages, starting off with the larva, then the nymph and then the adult stage. To go through the complete life cycle, a Deer Tick can live for up to three years. These buggers are the most active in the nymph stage starting in the middle of May and continue to be a nuisance through the middle of June. When it is an adult, it is most active from late September until October.
Size and Where They LiveA Deer Tick has a red-brown coloring and gets about 1/8th of an inch long, which makes them easy to miss due to their tiny size. Think of a pinhead, and that is what you are looking for with a Deer Tick. To transmit Lyme disease to a human, a Deer Tick must be attached for at least 24 hours. Removing this tick as soon as possible will reduce the risk of contracting Lyme disease, so get the magnifying glass out if you have to, but find this one and get rid of it immediately. This is also true on your pets, as the Deer Tick is the biggest contributor for dogs getting Lyme disease.
While these ticks are normally in the Northeast, you can really find them almost anywhere in the United States, but frequent Western California, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Idaho and Nevada. If there are rodents and deer, this tick can find a home.
The Dermacentor Variabilis, also known as the Wood Tick, is a common species in the United States. Like the Deer Tick, the Wood Tick can transmit diseases and viruses to humans and pets.
Wood Ticks also have a three-stage life cycle of larva, nymph and then full adult, with theirs taking about 55 days for a male and up to two years for a female, depending on if she lays eggs and how that goes. Wood Ticks are a bit larger than Deer Ticks with the females larger than the males, and are a hard tick, which means they have a hard shell and not a soft shell.
These ticks have a brown back with silver or gray markings on the shell and a brown scutum, which is that little part just behind the head. That area is a great spot to pay attention to, as most ticks have their distinct markings there.
Where Wood Ticks LiveWood Ticks are common in the United States, and you will find them all over the Eastern half of the country, but also in California. The main area that sees these bugs are states along the coast from Massachusetts to Florida, but they pop up in the Midwest and the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Mexico.
These critters love a good grassy field, nature trail, forest edge and tall grass. You could also catch them at your favorite dog park or backyard, as they don't mind a sidewalk or walkway. Wood Ticks love humid weather and hot weather, and are most active in Spring and Summer. While they aren't as active in Winter, that doesn't mean they aren't around. Warmer days in the season could bring out the hungry female. For the rest of the time, the females lay dormant, ready for the warmer weather to find a new host.
How to Spot the DifferencesSome of the main ways to tell these two apart are coloring and size. A Wood Tick has a black lower back, and a Deer Tick has a red lower back. They both have reddish-brown bodies, so it's that lower back you need to pay attention to.
Adult Wood Ticks are about twice the size of adult Deer Ticks. Deer Ticks are around 1/8th of an inch for an adult female, with the males smaller, and Wood Ticks are 3 to 15 mm long, depending on if they just fed or not. Those two facts are going to be the easiest way to tell the difference. Another way these two are different is Deer Ticks love wooded areas, forest edges and tall grass, while Wood Ticks like to hang out in more open areas, like woods.
When it comes to your health and safety, Deer Ticks are the ones you want to avoid more than Wood Ticks. Deer Ticks transmit Lyme disease to humans and pets. So, if you see that red lower back, think of it like a stop sign and get away as fast as possible, remove it as quickly as you can and don't go in that area again unless you have taken precautions.
Wood Ticks can still carry viruses, and the Rocky Mountain spotted fever is their disease of choice, but it can be treated with antibiotics if caught early.
If you remember anything, it's if you see the red lower back, that's the one to be extra careful with. Not that any tick bite is fun, or getting any viruses or disease from any type of tick will be a good time. But as the two most common ticks in the United States, you want to know as much as you can about the Deer Tick and the Wood Tick. When you come back home from a hike or are done enjoying your backyard on a sunny day, take a few minutes to check yourself and your pets for these (and any other) ticks. Enjoy your outside time a little more with the knowledge that you can now easily identify these two common species of ticks.
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