Central Mass Ticks: American Dog Tick vs. Deer Tick

Central Mass ticks have one thing in common. They want to feed on your blood.

What do ticks look like? The main goal of all female ticks is to get their next blood meal, grow to adulthood, and reproduce. It’s their driving force. Both the American dog tick and deer tick are common in Central Mass. We know how they are the same. How do they differ?

Central Mass tick: deer tick

Also known as the black-legged tick, this Central Mass tick is the main spreader of Lyme disease. Most Lyme cases result from the bite of a female nymph deer tick. It takes 36 to 48 hours for a deer tick to transmit Lyme disease. Nymph ticks are so small that they are often missed until they become engorged with blood. The biggest threat for a bite from a deer tick in Central Mass is springtime, summer, and fall. Though, ticks live in winter in Central Mass. According to the CDC, adult deer ticks could be out questing for their blood meal in temperatures above freezing. Deer ticks in Central Mass might also transmit Anaplasmosis, Powassan virus, and Babesiosis.

Central Mass ticks: deer tick

Central Mass tick: American dog tick

Another nasty tick common to Central Mass is the American dog tick, also known as the wood tick. This tick is not only common in our area, but is prevalent east of the Rocky Mountains. According to the CDC, the dog tick has limited populations on the Pacific coast. Adult females are the most likely to deliver a bite to their host, and they are responsible for some serious tick-borne illnesses. The American dog tick is the most common vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Tularemia. Dog tick bites tend to be mostly in the spring and summer.

Central Mass ticks: American dog tick

Now is the time for Central Mass tick control.

tick control Massachusetts Warm weather has arrived. We are spending more time outdoors. Central Mass ticks are on the prowl. They are hanging on low-lying vegetation in your backyards and your favorite outdoor areas, like playgrounds, hiking trails, and even the beach. You can help prevent tick-borne illnesses, like the ones above, by hiring a reputable Central Mass tick control company to spray all the areas around your home. Barrier tick sprays are available to keep your family safe at home, and should be professionally applied to your yard about ever three weeks throughout “tick season,” springtime, all the way through autumn. Don’t wait until you find a tick on yourself, a family member, or the family pet. An ounce of prevention is worth all the cure in the world! And let’s not forget, some tick diseases, like Lyme disease, cannot be cured.

Also read: What is the most common tick?

Dave Macchia, tick control enthusiast — Dave Macchia, Central Mass tick control enthusiast

Monster Hyalomma tick spotted in the Netherlands

Central Mass ticks and tick-borne illnesses are a hot topic. Between dog ticks, black-legged ticks, and deer ticks, we have enough to worry about with regard to tick-borne diseases. This monster tick will make you glad that you live in Central MA!

The Hyalomma tick is said to have originated in Iran or the southern part of the former Soviet Union, and it’s making its way throughout parts of Europe, which have not before seen it. Two Hylomma ticks have recently been identified in the Netherlands. I call it a monster tick for a few reasons.

montster tick — *Can you imagine a monster lurking in the Central MA woods?*

Reason #1 the Hyalomma tick is a monster

The size of the Hyalomma tick is literally monster-size! This thirsty blood-sucker is about twice the size of more common ticks in the Netherlands – measuring 1/5″ until it feeds, at which time it measures over 1/2″. We have discussed some nymph ticks that are native to our area, which are about the size of a poppy seed. Can you imagine encountering this big guy?

Hyalomma tick vs sheep tick size — *Take a look at the size difference in a Hyalomma tick versus the sheep tick.*

The second reason I call this tick a monster

Since the Hyalomma tick is native to regions with harsh-desert environmental conditions with few hosts available on which to feed, it has adapted in a truly unusual way. This monster tick will literally chase its host to get its blood meal!

Found in woodlands, dunes, gardens, and meadows, Hyalomma ticks sense body heat, vibrations, or scents of hosts when nearby, and run towards the host to feed on their blood. It is said that they will stalk their hosts for up to 10 minutes, and travel hundreds of feet.

The third reason these ticks are monsters

As with our Central MA native ticks, the Hyalomma tick is a disease carrier and spreader. Most commonly, they spread spotted fever to humans and Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) to horses. Though, they have tested negative for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, common to agricultural workers in eastern Eurpoe, the Mediterranean, parts of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Protect your family from Central Mass ticks and the diseases they carry with effective tick control measures

While we have not yet be invaded by the monster Hyalomma tick, the ticks that are commonly found here in Central Mass are still monstrous in their own rights. They threaten the health of our families with nasty tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and Babesiosis. As always, your best bet at protection is with total professional Central Mass tick control.

This is is not science fiction: ravenous, self-cloning tick invading the US

This might sound like a sci-fi summer movie, but it’s real life for US residents now. The Asian longhorned tick is feeding on America’s wildlife and livestock – and it’s the scariest tick you ever heard of!

Warmer wintertime temperatures are allowing ticks to live longer in the United States, and that includes accidentally-imported ticks, such as the Asian self-cloning tick that I have been reading about.

Reputable tick control companies are now offering tick tube programs, which effectively eliminate ticks by-proxy through nesting efforts of mice in the “off season.” Mice will create their nests with cotton that has been treated to kill ticks. The cotton does not hurt the mice, but when a tick bites one of the mice, who have nested with this treated cotton, it receives a lethal dose of the tick control treatment. These extra measures are becoming commonplace measures in the Central Mass fight against these blood-sucking invaders, including the Asian longhorned tick that has us more worried than ever about effective tick protection.

What’s so scary about the Asian longhorned tick?

Not only does this thirsty tick having cloning abilities – females can reproduce without a male – but these tick clone armies are killing livestock by blood loss! A recent report of young bull in Surry County, NC, who was covered with one thousand longhorned ticks, was drained of his blood supply, causing acute anemia (usually associated with hemorrhaging). If this doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will!

longhorned ticks

This deadly, self-cloning tick was first reported in the United States in 2017, and has since been identified in at least 10 US states, including: North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, and Arkansas. It’s likely already in other states too, including Massachusetts, but just has not yet been reported and identified!

Asian longhorned ticks

Longhorned ticks also spread diseases!

Though their cloning abilities and blood-sucking capabilities are the scariest bits about this hungry Asian import, the longhorned tick is known to spread tick-borne illnesses, such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted fever.

The good news is that these thirsty tick-clone armies are eliminated with the same Central Mass tick control treatments used to kill other ticks! I recommend protecting your home and family year-round with professional tick protection measures, including a tick control program! An effective tick control spray can be applied to your property, eliminating ticks on contact, and continuing to work for up to three weeks – killing up to 95% of the ticks in and around your property.

Ticks are much like Game of Thrones’ Night King!

Ticks are no good for ANYONE. They prey on our families, our pets, and even our livestock. Will you be stuck trying to remove a tick from yourself or a loved one this year, and hope that said tick has not left devastation behind?

As we inch towards the series finale of Game of Thrones, I started thinking about how I might compare Central Mass ticks to the once-feared, mysterious Night King. Here are some comparisons between the two!

Central Mass ticks and the Night King are u-g-l-y, and they ain’t got no alibi!

Most obvious of all, the Night King is hideous and scary looking. The same can be said of ticks! Not only are ticks gross on the outside, but they have a mouthful of hooks that allow them to DIG IN to your flesh, and borrow!

Your sacrifice is required for their reproduction, just like the Night King built his army of Wights!

Female ticks take a few blood meals during their life cycle. They require their last blood meal in order to reproduce, and create more blood-sucking, disease spreading ticks! In search of their blood meal, they will latch on to your flesh, sink their hooks in you, and can transfer very harmful diseases, like Lyme disease.

Tick bites are your blood sacrifice!
Your sacrifice could be Lyme disease!

Central Mass ticks can survive the winter, just like the Night King!

Contrary to popular belief, ticks do not die in winter. Reputable Central Massachusetts tick prevention professionals have solutions, such as tick tubes, which will continue to eliminate ticks “out of season” and control the tick population in your yard during the next spring and summer!

Do ticks survive winter? — Like the Night King, Central Mass ticks easily survive winter!

Don’t say, “Dracarys!” Fire will not help you remove a tick – just like dragonfire won’t kill the Night King!

You do NOT want to burn ticks to get them out of your skin. Never put yourself, your loved one, or your pet in harm’s way by trying to burn a tick to remove it. This cannot end well! How should your remove a tick?

Steel vanquished the Night King, and will help you vanquish your tick!

Tweezer tick removal — Proper tick removal requires tweezers.

Valyrian steel not required! For that matter, please not your most effective weapon will not be a dagger. All you need is a nice pair of tweezers to remove and dispose of your tick.

My goal is always to inform you about the dangers of ticks in Central Mass. The best way to control them, and to keep your family safe, is to prevent them in the first place. As they say, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”