Deer Tick

Deer Tick Facts

• Size: Larvae under 1 mm, nymphs near 2 mm, unfed adults about 3 mm, and a fed female up to about 10 mm
• Color: Black legs; females orange-red behind a dark shield, males mostly dark brown

Deer Tick Behavior

Ticks are arachnids, not insects. A deer tick passes through egg, larva, nymph and adult stages and takes one blood meal at each active stage, so it feeds only three times. The whole cycle often lasts about two years.

Identifying Blacklegged Ticks in Florida

“Deer tick” is the everyday name for the blacklegged tick, whose legs are dark brown to black at every stage. Adult females have an orange-red to brick-colored body behind a solid dark shield near the head. Males are smaller and almost entirely dark brown. Nymphs are about the size of a poppy seed, and larvae are even smaller, which is why bites at those stages are easy to miss. The mouthparts point forward and are easy to see from above.

Common Florida look-alikes:

• Lone star tick: brown and rounder, with longer mouthparts. The female has a single white spot on her back.
• American dog tick: larger, with white or silvery ornate markings on the shield.
• Brown dog tick: plain reddish brown with no markings, and the tick most likely to be found breeding indoors.

Where they live: shaded woods, leaf litter, brushy trail edges and tall grass bordering woodland. Ticks do not jump or fly. They wait on low plants and grab on as a host brushes past.

Hosts: adults feed mainly on deer and other larger mammals. In the Southeast, young blacklegged ticks often feed on lizards such as skinks, as well as small mammals and birds.

In Florida: blacklegged ticks occur across much of the state. Adults are most active in the cooler months, roughly fall into early spring. Lyme disease is reported far less often in Florida than in the Northeast. See the deer tick bites page for symptoms to watch for.