Type of tick? - Ask Extension
Oddly we just found this in our house in Lake County (Summer Lake, Oregon), my husband found it on him in bed after duck hunting yesterday. We also ha...
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Type of tick? #610839
Asked January 19, 2020, 12:18 PM EST
Oddly we just found this in our house in Lake County (Summer Lake, Oregon), my husband found it on him in bed after duck hunting yesterday. We also had a friend over last weekend from the Willamette valley. We thought it was odd to find one in Winter, and thought it looked like maybe a really young dog tick or perhaps a Rocky Mountain tick?
Lake County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi.
It is a male tick from the genus Dermacentor. This is the genus that includes American dog ticks and Rocky Mountain wood ticks along with others, so you were on the right track. I can't tell which species you found though without a closer look.
Fortunately, ticks from the genus Dermacentor do not transmit Lyme disease, so there is no worry about that with this type of tick. Dermacentor ticks can transmit the organisms
responsible for Colorado tick fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia
and other diseases if they are infected. However, cases of these diseases being
transmitted to people in Oregon are very rare.
Hope that helps!
