365 Urban Species. #146: American Dog TIck

[urbpan]

Urban species #146: American dog tick Dermacentor variabilis

Also called the wood tick, this is the largest and most common tick in Eastern North America. Unlike the deer tick, it doesn't carry Lyme disease, but can transmit other diseases, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever. It becomes active in April and May, climbing to the tops of weeds waiting for a mammal to come by and serve as a host. Baby dog ticks feed on small mammals like mice and rats, move to larger mammals as they grow, such as skunks and raccoons. They are "three host" ticks, and the third host is likely to be a domestic dog, or even a large urban primate.


We collected this bottle full of ticks (deer and dog both) from the dogs, at the end of a July visit to (appropriately enough) Dogtown.

Comments

[lisianthia.livejournal.com]

Great icon!

[bellelvsbeast.livejournal.com]

EW ticks are icky...seriously the only animal I really don't like...:P
I think a deer tick was on me...did you ever read that post of mine?
I think that first picture is really neat looking, even tho, EW TICK! :P

[engagefriction.livejournal.com]

I too have noticed they are pretty much out in full force this year, both of my dogs had a lot of them and they've never been bitten by a tick, ever! Yuck. :(

[ankhanu.livejournal.com]

First (and only) time I had ticks on me, I was pretty repulsed :P Can't say I'm a fan... they're quite rare in these parts though, luckily.

[ndozo.livejournal.com]

How do you suppose the little tick know which mammal are little and the big ones know who's big?

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

An excellent idea for research!
(in other words, I dunno. scent? heat signature? CO2?)

[badnoodles.livejournal.com]

Chemoreceptors on the tarsi attuned to particular host volatiles. Every type of animal gives off a particuarl chemical signature, and ticks are attuned to the signals of potential hosts.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Hooray for science!!

[cailin-t.livejournal.com]

*groan* there was one on my neck today because i wore the same shirt i wore in the woods yesterday. they're ALL OVER where i do my bird stuff. we have "tick pliers" we carry around, lol.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Likewise over here. I've gotten fairly nonchalant about them at work. I'm only bothered when I find one on myself when I'm in bed, or when I find one dug in. (icon is picture from work)

[miss-jett.livejournal.com]

Your pups are absolutely gorgeous! :D

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Now that you've friended cottonmanifesto, you'll get to see a lot of them!

[artemii.livejournal.com]

when i was a child we had outdoor gym class one day and i somehow ended up with a tick on my eyelash. it took over an hour for it to be successfully removed because the doctors were worried about accidentally damaging my eye.

[bloolark.livejournal.com]

I clicked over from cottonmanifesto's journal and decided to friend you so that I didn't have to remember to come over and look at your urban species. Laziness, completely. :) Hope you don't mind!

The pictures are beautiful!

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

Hey all right! I love seeing your parrots!

[shellynoir.livejournal.com]

Is that pigeon trying to feed you? My rescue used to do that.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

No, it's a wild pigeon I was feeding, that bit me on the thumb!

[richmackin.livejournal.com]

Dun Dun Dunanananananah
Dun Dun Dunanananananah
Dun Dun Dunanananananah
Dun Dun Dunanananananah
American Dog Tick, stay away from me
American Dog Tick, just let me be
Don't come a hangin' around my dog
I don't wanna see you drinking blood like grog
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time checkin' dogs you
Now Dog Tick, I said stay away
American Dog Tick, listen what I say-ay-ay-ay-ay-ay

(solo)

[(Anonymous)]

that was a stupid solo