The Ticks Archives - Colorado Tick-Borne Disease Awareness Association (COTBDAA)

What is a Tick?

December 1, 2020

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] What is a Tick? Ticks are tiny parasites in the Arachnid family that feed exclusively on blood from animal hosts to carry out their life cycle. There are hundreds of different kinds of ticks in the world. Many of them carry bacterial, viral or protozoal pathogens that can be transmitted to wildlife, pets, and humans through their bite. In addition to infections, a bite can cause serious tick-borne conditions. Ticks transmit more kinds of disease agents than any other kind of arthropod vector and are increasingly being found to harbor more than one pathogen; making them capable of transmitting multiple diseases in a single bite. In addition to being vectors of disease, ticks can also cause tick paralysis via toxins in their saliva to both...

Ticks in Colorado

December 2, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Ticks in Colorado Currently, 28 species of tick are known to occur within Colorado. Many of these ticks pose potential risks to human, pet, livestock and wildlife health. Several tick species have been found outside of their previously known distribution ranges and Coloradans may encounter additional tick species within our state or when traveling. Small mammals are important host reservoirs for many of the pathogens (germs) these tick vectors may transmit that can cause disease in humans, pets, livestock and wildlife. Large mammals, like deer and elk, provide both blood meals and transport of ticks as they migrate between habitats, and sometimes into our own back yards. Birds are very efficient transporters of ticks as well as competent host reservoirs for many tick-borne diseases. Disease...

American dog tick

December 3, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] American dog tick Dermacentor variabilis Distribution This hard tick has a disjunct geographic distribution in North America. It has a western distribution on the Pacific Coast and an extensive eastern distribution that extends from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, west into Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. , which includes a western distribution along the Pacific Coast of the USA and an eastern distribution that extends from southeastern Canada south to the Gulf of Mexico and west into Kansas, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Texas, and eastern CO. It may also be established in Alaska and southern British Columbia. Recent records have been collected from both humans and dogs with no recent travel history in Alaska, raising concern about establishment of this tick in this previously non indigenous...

Rocky Mountain wood tick

December 4, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Rocky Mountain wood tick Dermacentor andersoni Distribution The Rocky Mountain wood tick is known to occur throughout the Rocky Mountain States and southwestern Canada from elevations of 4,000 to 10,500 feet. In the USA, it occurs throughout the West, namely AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, North Dakota (ND), NE, NM, NV, OR, SD, UT, WA, and WY. In Canada, it occurs in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan. Hosts Adult ticks feed on large mammals, such as deer, horses, and cattle, in addition to dogs and humans; immatures feed on small mammals, such as shrews, chipmunks, ground squirrels, marmots, jackrabbits, and cottontails. This tick, primarily in its adult stage, are most encountered by humans and companion animals in CO, especially in the western half of the state. They are most...

Brown dog tick

December 5, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus Distribution This “species” of hard tick has a cosmopolitan distribution, including collection records from every state in the USA, via its association with domestic dogs. Recent studies suggest it is actually a complex of multiple species, some of which have not yet been described. In CO, this tick may be associated with domestic dogs recently brought in from out-of-state, but established local infestations may persist indoors anywhere (e.g., kennels). This tick is unusual in that it is able to complete its entire life cycle indoors and has been shown to imbibe water directly, rather than having to use saliva to gather moisture from the air, as do other tick species. Unlike most other hard ticks, eggs of this tick are laid inside...

“Soft-bodied” ticks

December 6, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Soft-bodied ticks The following "soft-bodied ticks" are known for being the primary vectors causing Tick Borne Relapsing Fever (TBRF) in humans in the US, with Ornithodoros hermsii being the most often implicated. Special care should be taken when sleeping or working in or near rodent infested buildings (cabins, hunting camps, barns or outbuildings) where these ticks may reside in nests or burrows. Unlike hard tick species, soft-bodied ticks are long-lived ticks that may feed multiple times between each of their life stages, which is further described in what is a tick? Additional soft-bodied ticks including Argas cooleyi, Otobius megnini and Carios kelleyi (bat tick) that occur in Colorado are described further in the post, ticks in Colorado. Ornithodoros hermsi Distribution This tick occurs widely in the western USA,...

Lone star tick

December 7, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Lone star tick Amblyomma americanum Distribution The lone star tick, has a long record of occasional introductions to Colorado, usually arriving on animals traveling with their owners from the eastern or midwestern USA, where it has an extensive and expanding distribution, from Florida north to Maine and west to Nebraska and Texas. It also occurs in the northern states of Mexico. This hard tick is not yet known as an established resident in Colorado. This tick is high risk as an invasive species as demonstrated by its recent expansion to the northeastern region of the country. The adult female is distinguished by a white dot or “lone star” on her back. Hosts Hosts of this species include a wide variety of mammals and ground-dwelling birds, and humans. The nymph...

Western blacklegged tick

December 8, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Western blacklegged tick Ixodes pacificus Distribution This western blacklegged tick is documented primarily along the Pacific coast of the US, particularly northern California and inland to eastern Oregon, western Utah and Arizona. It is not known to have an established population in Colorado as records describe only one distant collection from a human. Hosts Nymph stage of the tick often feed on lizards, small animals as well as birds; adults on large mammals, commonly deer, dogs, horses and humans. Stages most likely to bite humans are nymphs and adult females. There is a growing concern for Lyme disease regarding these ticks and some of their host species, gray squirrels and birds, in urban areas such as city parks in California. The western fence lizard has been found to carry...

Blacklegged tick

December 9, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Blacklegged tick "deer tick" Ixodes scapularis Distribution The blacklegged tick (also known as the "deer tick") is widely distributed in the US, documented in nearly 50% of US counties, with high prevalence in the northeastern and upper Midwestern United States. It is not known to be endemic within Colorado, but has been documented on dogs that have recently traveled from other states. Both its range and prevalence have been expanding throughout the US in recent years. Hosts Hosts for this species at the immature stage include a variety of small mammals (notably the white-footed mouse) squirrels, birds and humans. Adult ticks often take their last blood meal on larger mammal hosts, (notably white-tailed deer) where they also breed. Stages most likely to bite humans are nymphs and adult females....

Longhorned tick

October 10, 2020

The Ticks

[vc_row][vc_column width="2/3"][vc_column_text] Longhorned tick Haemaphysalis longicornis Distribution Haemaphysalis longicornis, the Asian longhorned tick, is now established in the United States. The longhorned tick is native to eastern China, Japan, the Russian Far East, and Korea. It is an introduced/established exotic species in Australia/New Zealand and several island nations in the western Pacific Region. This invasive species was first was confirmed in the United States in November 2017 following its discovery by collection from a domestic sheep and its caregiver in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. During follow-up surveys in spring of 2018, the longhorned tick was found in the environment in and around the original sheep paddock in Hunterdon County, and also on wild opossum, raccoon, and white-tailed deer collected in the area. These findings confirmed that the tick overwintered...

Additional Resources

Lyme Disease

Babesiosis

Anaplasmosis

Heartland Virus

Colorado Tick Fever

Borrelia miyamotoi

Ehrlichiosis

Powassan Virus

Rickettsia

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Tularemia

Tick Borne Relapsing Fever

STARI

Pacific Coast Tick Fever

Bourbon Virus

Bartonella

Q-Fever

Tick Paralysis

Prevention!

The Ticks