Deer Ticks and Lyme Disease. Identify, Remove, Prevent

Blacklegged ticks are small. In Ohio an adult male is just over 1/16 inch and an unfed female is about 3/32 inch.¹ Nymphs are under 2 mm and hard to see.² The Ohio species is Ixodes scapularis, the blacklegged or deer tick, found across the eastern half of the country.⁸

California has a different tick, the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus. The unfed nymph is about 1/25 inch, the size of a poppy seed. An unfed adult female is about 1/8 inch with a reddish-orange abdomen and a dark plate on the back.⁶ The eastern species does not occur in California.⁶

The larger tick you find on the dog is likely an American dog tick. Compare the two in the ticks and fleas hub.

Blacklegged ticks go from egg to larva to nymph to adult, and each stage after the egg needs a blood meal.¹ In Ohio, females lay about 2,000 eggs in one place.¹ In California, females lay 900 to 1,000 eggs in soil or litter, and the cycle took three years in the northwestern study area.⁶

Nymphs are the main risk. Most people with Lyme were infected by nymphs, which are tiny and easily missed.² A tick gets Lyme bacteria when it feeds on an infected rodent or other animal, then stays infected as it grows.⁷

Deer matter too. They are the preferred host of the adult blacklegged tick, and mice such as deer mice and white-footed mice are important hosts for the Lyme pathogen.²

Most bites go unnoticed. Look for a tick and for the rash.

• A tiny tick stuck to skin, often on the scalp, behind an ear, or on an arm or leg.⁶
• A rash that spreads from the bite, 3 to 30 days later, up to 12 inches or more. It is warm and rarely itchy or painful.³
• Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches or swollen lymph nodes, even without a rash.³
• A small bump or redness right after the bite is common and goes away in a day or two. It is an allergic reaction, not Lyme.⁷

About 30 percent of confirmed cases reported to CDC have no rash at diagnosis.²

Blacklegged ticks carry Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and babesiosis, and a bite can pass on more than one.¹ Lyme comes from Borrelia bacteria. Untreated, it can spread to joints, the heart and the nervous system, causing arthritis, facial palsy, irregular heartbeat and severe headaches.³

In northern California areas where Lyme occurs, usually about 1 to 2 percent of adult western blacklegged ticks and 2 to 15 percent of nymphs carry the bacteria.⁶ The risk varies from place to place and year to year.⁶

Treatment works. Lyme is curable, and early treatment avoids later problems.² CDC says early Lyme arthritis is treated with 4 weeks of antibiotics.⁵ Dogs can get Lyme but cannot give it to you. They can bring infected ticks into the house.²

Pull the tick the same day. Use clean fine-tipped tweezers and grip the tick as close to the skin as possible. Pull straight out with steady, even pressure, and do not twist or jerk. If mouthparts stay in, leave them if they will not come out easily.⁴

Clean the bite and your hands with soap and water or alcohol. Seal the tick in a container or put it in alcohol, and do not crush it.⁴ Do not use petroleum jelly, heat or nail polish. Do not wait for a doctor to remove it and do not get the tick tested.⁴

If a rash or fever shows up within several weeks, see your doctor and mention the bite. If you become ill, do not wait for tick results before treatment.⁴

For the yard, clear leaf litter and brush and call a pro for a perimeter spray if your lawn borders woods. Lyme bacteria usually need about a day of feeding, so a daily check is the best defense.⁷

A one-time yard tick treatment costs $100 to $500, with a national average of $200. A full-season package of 5 to 6 visits from April to September runs $200 to $450.¹⁰

By yard size, up to a quarter acre runs $100 to $200, a quarter to one acre runs $150 to $350, and one acre or more runs $300 to $500 or higher.¹⁰ A DIY application runs $20 to $80.¹⁰

Yard size is the biggest driver. Woodland-dwelling ticks need more targeted treatment, and brush, slopes and wooded borders raise the price.¹⁰ The guide we used lists no inspection price, so ask the pro what is included.

Block the nymphs and check daily.

• Use at least 25 percent DEET on skin, and permethrin on clothes only.¹
• Wear light-colored long sleeves and pants and tuck pants into socks.¹
• Shower within two hours of exposure, and tumble outdoor clothes in a hot dryer for an hour.⁶
• Check pets and gear. Ticks can ride in on dogs and cats.⁶
• Mow and remove brush, leaf litter and tall weeds.¹
• Remove rodents near the house.¹
• In California, Lyme vaccines are available for dogs.⁶

In Ohio, blacklegged adults are active in spring, fall and winter. Nymphs feed in spring and summer, and larvae in late summer. Some stage is active every month.¹ Ohio Lyme cases are reported in every month, peak in summer, and most people are bitten in June and July.²

In California, nymphs are found from January through October and are most active from March to July. Adults seek hosts from late fall through spring.⁶ Nymphs are more active in spring and early summer, adults from fall through early spring.⁷

That is why the grids look different. In both states, spring and early summer is when nymph bites are most likely.

Ohio blacklegged ticks have grown in number since 2010, mostly in forested areas.¹ The Ohio Department of Health says they are most common in eastern and southern Ohio but likely occur in suitable wooded habitat across the state.²

Lyme used to be rare in Ohio. In the early 1990s there were one to two dozen cases a year, and it is now common to see hundreds.² Yards that border woods or have tall grass or leaf litter can hold ticks.²

Ohio law requires pest management companies to be licensed through the Ohio Department of Agriculture. Ask for the license, proof of insurance and workers' compensation, and get at least three bids.¹¹ Also see the lone star tick guide.

The western blacklegged tick is reported in 56 of California's 58 counties and attaches to people more often than any other tick.⁶ It lives along the Pacific coast, especially northern California.⁸

The state rate is low, about 0.2 cases per 100,000 people a year. Trinity, Humboldt and Mendocino counties run higher.⁶ About half of California cases are caught around the home in semirural areas.⁶

Nymphs hide in leaf litter and on logs and trunks under oaks and other woodlands. Adults sit on tips of tall grass and shrubs along trails.⁷

California's Structural Pest Control Board licenses pest companies by branch. Branch 2 covers household pests without fumigation.¹² See the ticks and fleas hub for more.