Detailed information on American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

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mooncat

Stillwater, MN | January 2016 | Neutral

please do not confuse "dog ticks" with lyme carrying "deer ticks" aka, "black legged tick", or "bear tick". they are much smaller than a dog tick.

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PriscillaKing

Gate City, VA | May 2013 | Negative

They really should go extinct. Lyme Disease has been reported here too; a friend suffered from it all last summer and a neighbor's child almost died (because the doctor didn't think of giving the right antibiotic in time, not expecting Lyme Disease here). They are easier to remove if killed on the site of attachment. A good splash of alcohol does the quickest, cleanest job, but the cats enjoy having any ticks they pick up drowned in salad oil.

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FlyPoison

Rock Hill, SC (Zone 7a) | April 2011 | Negative

Almost perished from Rocky Mounted Spotted Fever, at the age of 2, from one of their bites. Very prevalent in the southeast.

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Mainer

Durham, ME (Zone 3a) | June 2009 | Negative

We do not usually have ticks in Maine and suddenly in the past few years, we have them all over the place especially in May and June of this year 2009. Very rainy and wet year but so far my cat is indoors and flea and tick collar on her and she gets checked by the vet as well.

Can't go our ourselves to the garden without them jumping on so we tick check and if anyone knows what else to do to decrease these pests from our garden space please give us a clue. Never have I remembered a summer where it was not safe to go around in shorts or to sit on the lawn but this year gardening is simply no fun because of these pests.

They jump onto the iris tags and then onto to me when I photograph. I wear jeans, a jacket and light colors to see them before bringing them i... read more

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binny69

Bee Branch, AR | June 2008 | Negative

Late May, early June is the most prolific time for these ticks in our area. They are not only found on dogs, when we come in from outside we check ourselves as well. Just now they are tiny later on they will be large enough to feel. I think they are carried on the wind as windy days seem to produce more on humans. My dogs are protected with monthly drops and although the ticks get onto them, they are soon killed and then drop off.

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red_princess_71

Lilesville, NC (Zone 7b) | May 2007 | Negative

I have found this tick on my dog..I was told when i moved here about 10 yrs ago from Ohio, that when you see that big brown lump on your dog that that is the tick sucking the blood out of your dog and that if there is many of these on your dog that it can because anemic. Now when i found these on my dog there was many of them before i new what they were and they would get so big and when we took them off very carefully with a pair of tweezer, and was sure to get the head of the tick out of the dog, and killed it, the big light brown body was full of blood. It was really gross. So please watch for these on your dog and they are also found in the ears of dogs. These can be really dangerous to your dog. The next time i see one on a dog, i will try to get a picture of this so you all can see i... read more

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Kameha

Kissimmee, FL (Zone 9b) | January 2007 | Negative

We seem to be suffering from a large outbreak of this tick in Central Florida that started after the 2004 hurricane season (whether or not this is just a coincidence I'm not sure). I was bit this fall (the first time in my life as far as I know). I have heard that this species is a carrier of lyme disease so be sure to report to your doctor if you are bitten by a tick. They also go through an engorged larval stage that is easily spotted on your dog as a strange brown lump about the size of a thumbnail. Who knows why these things exist?!

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Terry

Murfreesboro, TN (Zone 7a) | September 2006 | Negative

Known transmittor of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.

American Dog Tick

Dermacentor variabilis

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