Know Your Vector: Brown Dog Ticks

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- [Michael] Brown dog ticks occur throughout North America in our abundant and warmer areas, especially the south and west.

They are less common in Pennsylvania and the Northeast, but occur here frequently enough to be of concern.

An infected brown dog tick can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever or tularemia when feeding on a host.

Brown dog ticks prefer to feed on dogs, coyotes, and other canids like wolves and foxes.

They can complete their entire life cycle on dogs, unlike other ticks that switch between various small, medium, and large sized mammals.

This means that brown dog tick infestations often occur in areas where dogs congregate, such as kennels, dog parks, and similar areas.

Brown dog ticks are the only species that can complete their entire life cycle indoors and infest indoor spaces, including homes.

Occasionally, brown dog ticks bite humans but usually only when populations are high, such as in an infested house or kennel.

Let's examine the appearance of brown dog ticks.

Adults range in size from 1/8 of an inch up to 1/2 an inch for a fed, blood engorged female.

Brown dog ticks are dark brown and plain in appearance, although they can have some darker brown to almost black markings that may be difficult to see.

Additionally, they can be distinguished from black-legged ticks by the presence of festoons, or ridges, along the posterior edge of the abdomen.

The shape of the leg segments can also help distinguish brown dog ticks from other species.

There appear to be constrictions between the segments, which makes the segmentation quite obvious almost as if the legs were balloon animal legs.

If other characters are ambiguous, the most definitive character that identifies brown dog ticks is the basis capitula, or head and mouth parts.

This can be difficult to see without the aid of magnification, but is hexagonal in shape and extends laterally beyond the palps, or sensory structures.

Let's review the details.

Brown dog ticks range in size from 1/8 to 1/2 an inch in size.

They are brown with no distinctive pattern.

They do have festoons on the lower abdomen and their segmented legs appear balloon-like.

They have a hexagonal basis capitula.

Brown dog ticks are found in areas where dogs congregate and live.

Additionally, they can invest and survive in indoor spaces and can be difficult to eradicate.