Brown Dog Tick

Name of Tick: Brown dog tick

Danger Level: Extreme

Nicknames: Kennel tick, Pantropical dog tick

Scientific Name of Tick: Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Habitat: Worldwide, the Brown dog tick is the most pervasive tick in the world, it is most common in warmer climates

Specific Habitat: While the Brown dog tick does inhabit some of the same type of areas as other ticks, woodlands, grassy fields, trails, and forests, its primary habitat is in kennels and anywhere dogs live, including residential homes. The Brown dog tick will thoroughly infest a home if left unchecked. Once established inside they can hide in furniture, bedding, carpeting, floorboards, foundations, windows, just about anywhere.

Tick Facts and Information: The Brown dog tick has three life stages, larvae, nymph, and adult. Larvae hunt year-round and can survive for up to 9 months without a host, once attached to a victim they will feed for up to 7 days before releasing their grasp, falling back to the earth, and developing into a nymph. Nymphs are aggressive during all seasons and can also live an extended period without a blood meal, up to 9 months. Nymphs will feed on a host for up to 10 days, a scary duration of parasitism as compared to other dicks, after detachment they will develop into adults in approximately two weeks. Adult Brown dog ticks hunt year-round and often attack human beings, males will feed on a host briefly, females will remain attached for up to a week. A single female Brown dog tick can lay up to 4000 eggs. The Brown dog tick is rare among all ticks in that it can complete its entire life cycle indoors. The Brown Dog tick hunts by questing. A bite from the Brown dog tick can cause debilitating disease and result in death.

Tick Color and Appearance: Both adult male and female Brown dog ticks are easily identifiable by their signature reddish brown color, the entire body is reddish brown with no ornamentation. The Brown dog tick also has a body that is somewhat more elongated as compared to other ticks and a telltale hexagonal basis capitula (hexagonal area where the mouthparts are attached, essentially the “neck” of the tick).

Size and Number of Legs: The average adult Brown dog tick is 1/8 of an inch, size will vary greatly during the tick’s life cycle. Larvae have 6 legs, nymphs and adults have 8 legs.

Diseases Transmitted: Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Ehrlichia canis, Human babesiosis, Canine babesiosis

Control Solution: Tick Proof Repellent

Full Scientific Classification: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Arthropoda, Subphylum: Chelicerata, Class: Arachnida, Order: Ixodida, Family: Ixodidae, Genus: Rhipicephalus, Species: R. sanguineus