How ticks spread disease

How ticks survive

Most ticks go through four life stages: egg, six-legged larva, eight-legged nymph, and adult. After hatching from the eggs, ticks must eat blood at every stage to survive. Ticks that require this many hosts can take up to 3 years to complete their full life cycle, and most will die because they don’t find a host for their next feeding.

Relative sizes of several ticks at different life stages.

Some tick species, like the brown dog tick, prefer to feed on the same host during all life stages.

Image shows Rhipicephalus sanguineus at different life stages feeding on three canine hosts. The diagram shows potential pathways for Rickettsia rickettsii to transmit to a human host.

This diagram shows the typical lifecycle of brown dog ticks. Brown dog ticks spread the bacteria that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever in some parts of the southwestern United States and Mexico.

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Ticks can feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Most ticks prefer to have a different host animal at each stage of their life, as shown below:

Ixodes scapularis typically lays eggs in the spring. These hatch into larva in summer. The following spring, nymphs feed and then molt into adults later in the fall. Adults females will seek a blood meal and lay eggs the following spring, completing the lifecycle.

The lifecycle of Ixodes scapularis ticks generally lasts two years. During this time, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. After the eggs hatch, the ticks must have a blood meal at every stage to survive. Blacklegged ticks can feed from mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The ticks need a new host at each stage of their life.

Ixodes pacificus typically lays eggs in the spring. These hatch into larva in the following spring. During the summer, larvae feed and then molt into nymphs the following spring. During the summer, nymphs feed and then molt into adults over the winter. Adults females will seek a winter or spring blood meal before laying eggs in spring, completing the lifecycle.

The lifecycle of Ixodes pacificus ticks generally lasts three years. During this time, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. After the eggs hatch, the ticks must have a blood meal at every stage to survive. Blacklegged ticks can feed from mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The ticks need a new host at each stage of their life.

How ticks find their hosts

Ticks find their hosts by detecting animals´ breath and body odors, or by sensing body heat, moisture, and vibrations. Some species can even recognize a shadow. In addition, ticks pick a place to wait by identifying well-used paths. Then they wait for a host, resting on the tips of grasses and shrubs. Ticks can’t fly or jump, but many tick species wait in a position known as “questing”.

While questing, ticks hold onto leaves and grass by their third and fourth pair of legs. They hold the first pair of legs outstretched, waiting to climb on to the host. When a host brushes the spot where a tick is waiting, it quickly climbs aboard. Some ticks will attach quickly and others will wander, looking for places like the ear, or other areas where the skin is thinner.

How ticks spread disease

Ticks transmit pathogens that cause disease through the process of feeding.

Depending on the tick species and its stage of life, preparing to feed can take from 10 minutes to 2 hours. When the tick finds a feeding spot, it grasps the skin and cuts into the surface.
The tick then inserts its feeding tube. Many species also secrete a cement-like substance that keeps them firmly attached during the meal. The feeding tube can have barbs which help keep the tick in place.
Ticks also can secrete small amounts of saliva with anesthetic properties so that the animal or person can’t feel that the tick has attached itself. If the tick is in a sheltered spot, it can go unnoticed.
A tick will suck the blood slowly for several days. If the host animal has a bloodborne infection, the tick will ingest the pathogens with the blood.
Small amounts of saliva from the tick may also enter the skin of the host animal during the feeding process. If the tick contains a pathogen, the organism may be transmitted to the host animal in this way.
After feeding, most ticks will drop off and prepare for the next life stage. At its next feeding, it can then transmit an acquired disease to the new host.

Page last reviewed: September 21, 2020

Content source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID), Division of Vector-Borne Diseases (DVBD)