Tick identification

I have been trying to identify the tick that bit my wife. I took it off her back. I know it was at least the second day for the bite.
I took this picture with my cell phone. So it is enlarged to view.
Any ideas what type it is?

 

Ixodes scapularis, female, probably adult a.k.a. black legged tick, deer tick, bear tick, etc. It's the one most commonly associated with Lyme disease. This one looks like it is partially engorged. Definitely qualifies her for antibiotic prophylaxis -- 200 mg doxycyline, one dose by mouth, unless allergic or pregnant. Tick Bites/Prevention | Tick-borne Diseases | Ticks | CDC Your PCP should be able to call in the RX for you. Sorry, I don't have a medical license in Maine. Keep an eye out for a rash (Lyme Disease Rashes and Look-alikes | Lyme Disease | CDC) but many people never get a rash. The majority of people who have a confirmed ixodes bite never get Lyme disease, especially if they take the doxy (but even if they don't), so don't freak out.

 

Thanks, she is on the med as of yesterday, but that is a week out from the time of the bite. It itched like hell, but didn't develop into a cellulitis like mine did. Our PCP for her right on the med as soon as he saw the bit. I appreciate the identification. I was having a hard time seeing the little bugger. I had a magnifying glass up to it. Finally took a picture and enlarged it. Didn't know a cell phone camera could do such a good job.

 

If it's that small, probably a nymph. You'll both be fine. You need to do your "full body skin checks" more often We've had a massive outbreak here in the last couple weeks. Thankfully, we have 5 dogs, all on Frontline+, which are like 5 walking killing stations for ticks.

 

Best of luck for your Mrs. Hopefully it wasn't a carrier of Lyme.

If you haven't yet, look into permethrin products for treating your clothing and such.

 

Would you believe that she doesn't even walk on the lawn. She only goes to and from the car. The dogs are treated.

 

I sure would believe it! In our case, the dogs are treated, but the ticks stay on long enough to hitch a ride inside, and then drop off. It's hard to say if the dogs treatment eventually kills them or just deters them (here), but with a hostile treated environment, any ticks are dead or dying. Healthy live ones are about as common as unicorns inside

 

Same here. Dogs and cat bring in ticks all the time, almost always dead. Less than once/year will I actually find one attached to me. As I said, I think they are acting like walking poison dispensers.

 

Another quick way to get rid of ticks is get chickens in your yard they love ticks... not an option for everyone just a natural remedy...

 

My Springer Spaniel approves of this message.

I've heard the same, and something called guinea fowl are supposed to totally shred the tick populations as well.

 

That's exactly why we got chickens. They work great!!!! However, the dogs get at least 2 walks everyday out in the woods beyond where the chickens range.

 

Looks like a dried deer tick. They can regurgitate and give you Lyme disease. Usually, you can be safe for the first 24 hours of attachment. Not that that is a guarantee. When removing them never squeeze the body, because it will regurgitate. Use a small tweezer or tick removal tool and grab it at the skin level by the mouth parts. Pull out the tick even with some skin attached. Wash area and use an antibiotic creme or just plain Vaseline. Visit the doc and bring the dead tick along with you.

 

Actualy looks like a regular wood tick to me and was it full of blood?

 

Partially engorged. Looked smaller than most wood ticks I have seen. Wife got a marble size inflammation. Slowly, the swelling is going down. Darn ticks are poison.

 

Ticks are bad...Watch for bulls eye rash, hope every thing works out for your wife.

 

We had 6 Guineas this spring for a couple months wandering around the yard eating up everything they could find.
5 of 'em unappeared, then the last one joined up with a group/gaggle of wild turkeys we have here. Weird.
We now have some more of those, and plan to let 'em out in the yard next spring. Hopefully, these will hang around. Only found 4 ticks all year. Dogs are wearing Seresto collars, so they're tick killing machines.
Oh, and during the worst of the tick "season" around here, I check myself EVERYTIME I go outside.....without fail. Every time. Dogs too.
I check them, since they don't care about checking themselves.
Not tryin' to rag on ya' Larry, but I HATE the dang things.
Don't believe all the normal stuff about how they like tall grass and wait for host to wander by.
My side yard lawn is very short (about an inch) most of the time, and I walked out about 20' from the front porch. When I started to walk back, I just happened to look down and saw a tick crawling on my pants leg.
Have I mentioned my dislike for ticks?

 

I found this chart. My wife's tick looks like Day 3

 

It could possibly (unlikely) be a wood/dog tick nymph, Demacentor variablis, but I wouldn't bet on it. It sounds like it is too small even for a 6-leg nymph stage (your tick had 8 legs); it looks more black than brown; and most importantly, it doesn't appear to have the typical lighter markings on the scutum (looks like a few stray reflections in the picture). Just saying...

FWIW, doxycycline is very good treatment for most tick-bourne illnesses including Lyme disease, rocky mountain spotted fver, erlichiosis/anaplasmosis, Colorado tick fever and relapsing fever. It only misses tularemia and babesiosis.

 

Never saw or spoke of ticks when I was a kid. Now they are everywhere. I will say that this year's drought sharply reduced the number of ticks I took off my dogs. I think one of my dogs got three, the other one, none. My cats don't go outside at all.
that was the third tick I picked off my wife in two years. Odd when you consider she isn't an outside person.

 

After 4 years of using Frontline and Advantix and always fighting fleas by August I tried out Serasto collars for my 2 dogs and 3 cats this year. I'm a believer, I saw 3 fleas the entire year and not a single tick! Those collars work impressively well!

Ticks don't really both me much, but everything I've found on me or pulled off my dogs has always been a wood tick, I've never seen a deer tick in person.

A couple years ago a woman I work with was in my office and I noticed a wood tick fall off her when she flipped her hair. She flipped out!! I tried telling her she had nothing to worry about, especially since it never bit her but this girl was a bit of a drama queen. She put the tick in a baggie and left work early to go to her doctor to have the tick tested. Apparently her doctor laughed at her.