10 Types of Ticks That Transmit Diseases, Where They Live, and How to Identify Them

The most feared type of tick, the blacklegged tick transmits two bacteria that cause Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi and B. mayonii, as well as the bacteria that causes babesiosis, Babesia microti. These ticks can also cause other infections that cause symptoms like fever, chills, headaches, and muscle aches. Also called the deer tick, the pest is primarily after white-tailed deer, though there are 30,000 cases of Lyme disease in people reported to the CDC annually (although the organization estimates the true number is much higher).

Look for: This tick is easily identified by its dark black legs, red-orange body, and black scutum (present on the upper portion of its shield).

Disease risk: Lyme disease, relapsing fever, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, Powassan virus

Location: You’ll find this critter crawling around the eastern half of the U.S., stretching the coast from Maine to Florida, moving into parts of Texas, Colorado, and even the Dakotas. They’re commonly found in deciduous forests.

Have you heard of ticks that cause an allergic reaction to red meat (a.k.a. alpha-gal allergy)? This is the one! Be warned: The CDC says the lone star tick is “a very aggressive tick that bites humans” and transmits bacteria that cause a wide range of diseases.

Look for: You can identify a female lone star tick pretty easily, thanks to the white dot (the lone star) on its back.

Disease risk: ehrlichiosis, tularmemia, Heartland virus disease, Bourbon virus disease, Southern tick-associated rash illness

Location: You can find this critter in the eastern U.S., but more commonly in the southeastern states. It’s found as north as Iowa and Illinois in the midwest to parts of Maine down into the Gulf Coast states.

If bitten by the American dog tick, there’s a risk it can give you the bacterial disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the incidence of which appears to be increasing. In 2017, there were 6,248 cases reported compared to just 495 in 2000. Thankfully, cases started to dip again in 2018. Also known as wood ticks, you’re most likely to experience a bite from an adult female during spring and summer.

Look for: These ticks have a dark brown body. Adult females have an off-white portion on their shields, while adults males can look mottled gray.

Disease risk: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia

Location: The American dog tick has a wide range, with a habitat east of the Rocky Mountains, as well as most of California.

Sorry to say, there is no place in the U.S. that is safe from the brown dog tick. While these critters are after your dog, they will settle for you. The CDC notes that the southwestern U.S. and the Mexico border are the areas at risk for being the victim of a brown dog tick-borne disease. Mather adds that these ticks can “set up shop in your house,” as they’re a hardier species that can withstand the dry conditions indoors.

Look for: The brown dog tick is a reddish brown and more narrow in shape compared to other ticks.

Disease risk: Rocky Mountain spotted fever

Location: Worldwide

These pests keep their home in the coast of the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, per the National Environmental Health Association. While their main “hosts” are animals like deer, rodents, and birds, they do bite humans, too. The Gulf Coast tick can transmit Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis, a less severe form of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Look for: To spot this tick, look for a slightly lighter coloring in its legs, a brown body, and silvery white connected lines on its shield. A female also has a light-colored scutum, though.

Disease risk: R. parkeri rickettsiosis

Location: Some states include Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Virginia, southern Arizona, among others.

These critters like it high up: Their habitats are in wooded areas of the Rocky Mountains in an elevation of at least 4,000 feet. Like many ticks, this brown-hued species transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever, as well as Colorado tick fever (a rare viral disease), says the CDC. Expect to see these critters coming out between January and November, as they’re less active during the summer months.

Look for: While they look similar to dog ticks, adult males have a cream-colored portion on their backs.

Disease risk: Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, tularemia

Location: Rocky Mountain states, such as Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico

These Pacific coast ticks are more into feeding on lizards than you, so it’s pretty rare that they infect people, says the CDC. Still, it’s worth it to stay away—the western blacklegged tick carries the bacteria that leads to Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, a bacterial disease that has increased 16-fold since the year 2000. Be cautious of them in forests and grassy areas year-round.

Look for: These ticks have a reddish body with black legs.

Disease risk: Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, Borrelia miyamotoi disease

Location: You can find them from the northern coast of Washington down to the Mexico border in California (plus most of Utah).

Soft ticks are in a league of their own. They latch on (and painlessly feed) for less than 30 minutes. Instead of typical grassy areas, they are found in rodent burrows, and humans can suffer a bite while sleeping in rustic cabins, the CDC says.

Look for: Expect a soft, oval body shape (with the head tucked underneath) compared to the hard ticks listed above. After feeding, they take on a swollen, flesh-like appearance.

Disease risk: Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF)

Location: Soft ticks are primarily found throughout the western half of the U.S. TBRF is rare, but is most common in mountainous regions, particularly Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona, Colorado, and parts of Texas.

Groundhog ticks, aka Ixodes cookei, get their name from their go-to hosts. These ticks like to feed on warm-blooded animals including, you guessed it, groundhogs, along with skunks, squirrels, raccoons, foxes, weasels, people, and domestic animals like your cat or dog, per the CDC. These ticks are the most active during warmer months, says Howard Russell, an entomologist at Michigan State University.

Look for: The groundhog tick looks similar to a black-legged tick but it tends to be a little lighter in color. “Adult females are about 1/8-inch long with the scutum or shield on the back being darker brown or black and kind of diamond-shaped,” Russell says. “Groundhog ticks are small, about the size of a sesame seed,” says Nancy Troyano, Ph.D., board-certified entomologist for Ehrlich Pest Control. “They are reddish tan in color.”

Disease risk: Powassan virus

Location: States in the eastern half of the U.S., including Maine and Pennsylvania.

The term “seed tick” is another way of referring to larval ticks. These baby ticks don’t tend to carry diseases or bite as much as their older counterparts, but they can, Williams says. All species of ticks have a seed tick stage. “Because they are so tiny, seed ticks are very difficult to spot on a person or pet,” Troyano says.

Look for: Seed ticks are very small in size and can look like a freckle, mole, or poppy seed. In general, seed ticks look like “very tiny brown spots that move,” Russell says.

Disease risk: Lyme disease, Powassan virus, and more. “Pathogens transmitted depends on the species and whether that pathogen-tick species combination can be passed from the female to her eggs and then larvae,” Lord says.

However, Williams notes, seed ticks are less likely to spread disease than their older counterparts. “If you’re going to be bitten by a tick, a seed tick is considered a better option,” he says.

Location: States in the eastern half of the U.S., including Maine and Pennsylvania.