Tick Identification - Ask Extension
Please help identify this tick. Found near Sherwood OR. Cotton ball for scale.
Knowledgebase
Tick Identification #871625
Asked June 04, 2024, 9:32 PM EDT
Please help identify this tick. Found near Sherwood OR. Cotton ball for scale.
Washington County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi David,
I think that tick might be a black-legged tick (an Ixodes species), but I can't really see the ID features well enough in your photos to say for sure.
Black-legged ticks are the types of ticks that can transmit Lyme disease, but the latest data suggest that in Oregon the numbers of these tick that carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease is fairly low (3%-8% of the western black-legged ticks are carriers). They also typically need to be latched onto you for 24-48 hours to be able to transfer the bacterium to a person.
If you want a firmer ID on that tick, you could send it to us at the OSU Plant Clinic. Here is a link with instructions for how to submit a sample if you would like to do that...
https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/how-submit-insect-and-spider-materials
We cannot test ticks to see if they are carrying the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in our lab, but several other labs provide this service for a fee. Here is a link to information about that if you are interested...
https://web.uri.edu/tickencounter/testing/
I think that tick might be a black-legged tick (an Ixodes species), but I can't really see the ID features well enough in your photos to say for sure.
Black-legged ticks are the types of ticks that can transmit Lyme disease, but the latest data suggest that in Oregon the numbers of these tick that carry the bacterium that causes Lyme disease is fairly low (3%-8% of the western black-legged ticks are carriers). They also typically need to be latched onto you for 24-48 hours to be able to transfer the bacterium to a person.
If you want a firmer ID on that tick, you could send it to us at the OSU Plant Clinic. Here is a link with instructions for how to submit a sample if you would like to do that...
https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/how-submit-insect-and-spider-materials
We cannot test ticks to see if they are carrying the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in our lab, but several other labs provide this service for a fee. Here is a link to information about that if you are interested...
https://web.uri.edu/tickencounter/testing/