Deer Ticks, Dog Ticks, and Lone Star Ticks - What’s the Difference?

If you live in the United States, you’re most likely to find one of four common tick species on your pet: the deer tick, the American dog tick, the Brown dog tick, or the Lone Star tick. While all ticks can transmit serious disease, knowing your tick species can help you assess the risk of infection when you remove a tick from your pet.

What are Deer Ticks?
The deer tick, also known as the black-legged tick or Ixodes scapularis, is about the size of a sesame seed. Males are all brown and females have a reddish brown body. When engorged, they may appear brownish, grayish, or dull green in color. They live just about anywhere white-tailed deer, their host of choice, are found, primarily throughout the eastern United States. Their close cousin, the Western blacklegged tick, lives along the west coast.
Deer ticks are the most common carriers of Borrelia burgdorferi and B. mayonii, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, which they contract from mice. They also transmit anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and babesiosis, infections that cause disease in cats and dogs as well as humans.

What are Dog Ticks?
The American dog tick, also known as the wood tick or Dermacentor variabilis, is about twice the size of a deer tick before feeding. However, since ticks can bite even in their early life stages, and they may or may not be engorged by the time you find them, you cannot always distinguish the species by size. Dog ticks are brown with grey markings, and once engorged tend to appear greyish-green in color. They are found east of the Rocky Mountains and along the west coast.
American dog ticks do not carry Lyme disease, but they can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Tularemia to both dogs and cats.
Brown dog ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) are found worldwide. They’re reddish brown and become greenish after feeding. Their favorite hosts are dogs, though they can also bite other animals, including cats, as well as humans. Like American dog ticks, they can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

What are Lone Star Ticks?
Lone Star ticks (Amblyomma americanum or turkey mites) are reddish brown, and females are large with a white spot on their back. They’re found throughout the Eastern United States. Like deer ticks, they have a penchant for white-tailed deer, but in the Midwest they’re known for feeding on wild turkeys. They also attack humans, dogs, and cats.
Lone Star ticks are the primary transmitter of bobcat fever, a deadly parasite that affects cats. They can also transmit ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tularensis to dogs.

Do Different Tick Species Require Different Preventatives?
Most popular spot-on flea and tick products like Frontline kill all four common species of ticks about 24 hours after they come in contact with your pet, regardless of whether or not they actually bite.
Ticks transmit disease by latching on and injecting the skin with their saliva. Usually, a tick has to stay latched on for at least 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease and other infections, but Rocky Mountain spotted fever can be contracted in as little as two hours.
So, while most flea and tick products do kill ticks, they do not actually repel them. They make it less likely for a tick to latch on long enough to spread disease, though it is still possible for tick borne infections to happen. For extra protection, you may want to use a product that contains a tick repellant. Frontline Shield contains Permethrin to repel, rather than just kill all species of ticks.
No matter what preventatives you use, you should still check your pets daily for ticks after they’ve been in wooded areas or tall grass.