Pennsylvania Ticks (6511)

Ticks, of which there are more than 500 species world-wide, are parasitic arthropods closely related to mites. Most ticks feed on the blood of warm-blooded mammals but some species also feed on birds, reptiles and even amphibians. Fish are apparently the only vertebrates not plagued by these little blood-suckers.
Many species of ticks can transmit diseases (zoonoses) from an infected host to other uninfected hosts. Some of the more frequently transmitted organisms include parasitic worms, viruses, bacteria, spirochetes and rickettsias. The most important of these to Pennsylvanians are spirochetes which cause Lyme disease, and rickettsias which cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Currently, more than 25 species of ticks have been identified in Pennsylvania. Of these, four species account for nearly 90 percent of all submissions to Penn State for identification. The four ticks are: 1) the American dog tick, Dermacentor variablis; 2) the blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis; 3) the lone star tick, Amblyomma americanum; and 4) a ground hog tick, Ixodes cookei.

For more information, please visit this Penn State Fact Sheet.

Printable PDF file

Penn State Entomology Dept.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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