Tick Active Timeframes

In general, ticks have three life/growth stages:

• The larval stage

• The nymph stage

• The adult stage

One reason this is important to remember is because a tick’s developmental stage can affect what types of hosts it feed on and at what time of the year it will be active.

Let’s take a look at the feeding habits and active timeframes of the ticks in Indiana that are most dangerous to humans.

The Blacklegged Tick

The blacklegged tick (also called the “deer tick”) is the primary carrier of Lyme disease, as well as human anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Powassan virus.

The following table outlines the host choices and most active periods for the various stages of a blacklegged tick.

Stage	Primary Host(s)	Most Active/Abundant Time Period Annually
Larval	White-footed mouse	July through September
Nymphal	Small, ground-dwelling vertebrates; humans; pets	Late spring through early summer
Adult Male	Deer (for reproduction and feeding); pets; rarely humans	Late summer through fall, and again in early spring
Adult Female	Deer (for reproduction and feeding); pets; rarely humans	Late summer through fall, and again in early spring

The nymphal stage tick is the most dangerous to humans, because it is roughly the size of a poppy seed, and rarely detected until after it has attached and engorged – meaning that, if the tick is infected, it has likely already transmitted Lyme or another disease it could be carrying to the human host.

The Lone Star Tick

The lone star tick has been connected to a number of illnesses – tick paralysis (adult female), Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), and alpha-gal allergy.

The following table outlines the host choices and most active periods for the various stages of a lone star tick.

Stage	Primary Host(s)	Most Active/Abundant Time Period Annually
Larval	All stages feed on: ground-dwelling birds; small mammals (e.g. rodents); large mammals (e.g. deer and livestock); pets; humans	In the spring and again in the fall
Nymphal		Survive in the soil in winter, then are active April through July
Adult Male		Survive in the soil in winter, then are active late March through June
Adult Female

The American Dog Tick

The American dog tick (especially the adult female) has been linked with the transmission of several diseases – tick paralysis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and anaplasmosis. Also, even though the current evidence does not show a connection between the American dog tick and the transmission of Lyme disease, researchers are still looking for a possible connection.

The following table outlines the host choices and most active periods for the various stages of a lone star tick.

Stage	Primary Host(s)	Most Active/Abundant Time Period Annually
Larval	Smaller mammals (e.g. field mice)	March through July
Nymphal		June to early September
Adult Male	Wild animals (e.g. deer); Livestock (e.g. cows); pets; humans	Emerge in April, peak in June, then gone by July
Adult Female

For a quick reference ID card for identifying the blacklegged tick, the lone star tick, and the American dog tick (at every stage of development), click here.

For more information about various tips and strategies for preventing tick bites, visit our Prevention page.

How Do Ticks Find Hosts?

Ticks detect their hosts in a wide variety of ways, including:

• Breath

• Body odors

• Body heat

• Body moisture

• Vibrations

Some species of ticks even hunt for hosts by simply seeing or recognizing shadows of potential hosts that are approaching.

Remember, ticks do not fly, leap, or fall from the sky. They have to rely on hosts making contact with vegetation along pathways that the ticks have staked out as high traffic areas – where the ticks are waiting in a position called “questing”. This is the primary method used by blacklegged (or “deer”) ticks – which are, according the Tick Encounter Resource Center (TERC), very “passive host-seekers.”

“Questing” (pictured left) involves a tick holding onto the vegetation (e.g. leaf or blade of grass) with its third and fourth pairs of legs, while its first pair of legs is stretched wide and a little forward. The tick will then grip a passing host with these front legs as that host brushes against the vegetation.

Once a tick has grabbed on to a host, it will crawl up until it finds a place on that host’s body to feed. Sometimes, the tick might look for a spot where the skin is thinner or where pressure from a waistband or watchband can help them penetrate the skin more easily.

For more information about where ticks tend to feed on the human body, visit our Do A Tick Check page.