Imagine taking advantage of beautiful autumn weather, out in nature…and you find a tick.

This tick is not the “typical” type you find in Massachusetts.  Deer ticks are plentiful here, but this is not a deer tick.  What is this tick with a white dot?  The tick you have found is a Lone Star tick.  The good news is, it does not carry Lyme disease bacteria.

Is this tick with a white dot dangerous?

While Lyme disease is only passed by the deer tick, also commonly called black-legged tick, the Lone Star tick can also make you sick.  This tiny blood sucker is responsible for ehrlichiosis, tularemia, and southern tick-associated rash illness, also known as STARI.  Tularemia can run rampant through rabbits and rodents, killing them in large numbers.  For humans, tularemia can cause swollen lymph nodes, eye inflammation, mouth sores, sore throat, and even pneumonia.  Ehrlichiosis can present in humans with symptoms that mimic flu.  These symptoms include fever, muscle pain, headache, and stomach upset.  STARI has similar symptoms, but can also include an elliptical shaped skin rash at the bite site within a week or so after the bite occurs.

There are two other points of interest about encounters with a tick with a white dot.

As with a bite from any insect or parasite, a skin infection can occur.  It is important that you wash your tick bite with warm water and soap as quickly as possible.  You can follow up with a bit of rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab.  Generally, a skin infection is not the immediate fear after a tick bite.

1. A bite from a Lone Star tick can cause a lifelong allergy to red meat, called Alpha-Gal syndrome.
2. Lone Star tick saliva is known to cause redness and irritation at the bite.  This does not necessarily indicate infection, and typically goes away in a short time.

Protect your health and home with Grafton tick control.

As with most tick-borne illnesses, the best course of action is tick bite prevention.  Out in nature, we must wear long pants and sleeves, and perform tick checks when we return home.  At home, professional Grafton tick control companies can help keep ticks away.

Also read: What if you find a tick on your body?