The Blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick, is a well-known biting arachnid that gets its name from its long black limbs and tendency to make its home on the skin of white-tailed deer. These hungry critters attach themselves to warm-blooded animals and make a meal out of their blood.
Deer ticks are resilient, tough to spot, and serve as vectors for harmful disease. This makes identification and prevention of Deer ticks more difficult and more important than people realize, so let’s learn more about these creepy crawlers and how you can keep them at bay in San Antonio.
What Do Deer Ticks Look Like?
Deer ticks are eight-legged creatures with orange/brown bodies that get up to about 1/8th of an inch in length and are typically a broad oval shape with no antennae. These pests are mostly flat but will take on a round shape when they’re engorged full of blood.
How Do They Get Onto Our Bodies?
Ticks lay low with their first pair of legs outstretched, waiting for an unsuspecting host to walk by. Once attached, the deer tick will wander for a while looking for the ideal spot on your body to call home. This is usually a dark and damp place like your armpits.
How To Identify A Tick Bite
Tick bites don’t cause any type of pain and typically result in mild skin irritation which makes them difficult to notice. Often, if a tick bites you, they won’t leave the scene of the crime for a while, and you’ll catch them with their head lodged in your skin continuing to feed.
Do Tick Bites Cause Disease?
A very common misconception is that Deer ticks cause Lyme disease. In reality, Deer ticks are actually just vectors for Lyme disease, meaning they’re a carrier of the disease rather than an actual cause.
This means being bitten by a tick won’t automatically result in Lyme disease, but if that tick is a carrier, there’s a chance you can be infected as well.
Some common signs of tick-borne Lyme disease are as follows:
- Erythema Migrans rash (A rash that looks like a bullseye)
- Fever
- Chills
- Muscle & Joint aches
- Swollen lymph nodes
If you’re experiencing any of these symptoms you should contact a medical professional as soon as possible.
Deer Tick Prevention
Deer ticks tend to prefer the same habitats as common rodents. This includes high grass, leaf litter, wood/debris piles, or any area that’s shaded and uninterrupted. By keeping your grass cut around gates and fences, cleaning up debris, and keeping lids tightly closed on trash cans, you’ll limit your exposure to deer ticks.
To reduce the risk of tick exposure indoors, inspect your clothing regularly, and use safe, store-bought repellent.
How Romney Pest Control Can Help
The best way to make sure your San Antonio home stays tick-free is by contacting Romney Pest Control. Our year-round pest control program is perfect for letting ticks and other pests know they’re not welcome in your house.
We have years of experience eliminating tick infestations safely and efficiently.
Request your free quote now or contact us at 210-446-5267 for any pest control questions.
