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Dallas, TX – Do you live in an area that is near to a greenbelt? Well, that greenbelt could well be the perfect place to get a tickbite. Ticks in North America are the equivalent of mosquitoes in Africa; their bites are irritating at best, and at worst may result in serious disease and even death. We take a look at some of those diseases in another article, but for now let’s take a look at exactly what a tick is.

All ticks belong to the arachnid family, which is the same family as the spider is found in. In fact, it can be hard to determine whether that creepy thing on you was a tick or a spider, because they look an awful lot alike.

In general, though, ticks are quite a bit smaller than spiders. The more aggressive and dangerous of the ticks, though, tend to have very small and hard bodies, unlike that of a spider. That means that if you notice the it long before that deer tick bites you, you may have a hard time killing it!

In North America, there are a few different species of ticks which humans need to be concerned about. These are the dog tick, the deer tick, and the Western black legged tick. All three of these species carry diseases which can be harmful to humans, with the black legged tick in particular being responsible for many deaths.

The deer tick is the second most common tick in the country, and it is found in the east. Deer tick bites are commonly found where there are large populations of white tailed deer, as is the case in almost all eastern states. While the ticks will get blood from humans when they can (often resulting in painful tick bite symptoms), deer are their main hosts. That’s why they are more of a threat to people who spend time in the woods than they are to the house bound.

The Western black legged tick, as the name indicates, is found in the Western part of North America. It is known to carry two different deadly diseases associated with tick bites, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease. This species of tick prefers the blood of livestock such as cows, but will take advantage of a human host when it can. Like the deer tick bite, the bite of this tick will result, at the least, in a tick bite rash.

Finally, the dog tick is both the most common and the best known of the tick family here in the United States. If you have a dog then you have to be worried about tick bites, both on humans and on dogs. While they don’t carry Lyme disease, dog tick bites can carry the deadly Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Ticks and tick bites are a common occurrence throughout the country. The only way to prevent deer tick bite, puss filled bump that it may become, is through vigilance and proper pest management.