Brown dog tick
Think reddish-brown dog/kennel tick: less ornate than American dog tick and more tied to indoor dog environments.
Size by life stage
- Adult female
- approx. 3-4 mm unfed source caveated editorial
- Adult male
- approx. 2-3 mm unfed source caveated editorial
- Nymph
- approx. 1-2 mm; small nymphs may be found in dog/kennel environments source caveated editorial
- Larva
- approx. 0.5-1 mm; larvae have 6 legs source caveated editorial
How to tell it apart
- Scutum: Plain brown, without ornate white markings; elongated body impression compared with rounder engorged ticks.
- Color (unfed): Reddish-brown to brown; less visually ornate than American dog tick.
- Color (engorged): Engorged females can swell and become grayish, olive, or tan; species ID from a swollen body alone is unreliable.
Where it lives
Region: Broadly distributed in the U.S. where dogs and indoor/kennel environments support populations; especially important in warm climates and heated structures.
Habitat preference: Homes, kennels, dog bedding, cracks/crevices, and peridomestic dog environments; unlike most core rows, it can complete its life cycle indoors.
Hosts: dogs, kennels, homes with dogs, humans occasionally
Where this species shows up in our state guides
Primary species in: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas
Secondary or emerging in: Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin
Disease associations
- can be associated with Rocky Mountain spotted fever transmission in some regions/contexts
Look-alikes
- american dog tick
- engorged blacklegged tick
- bedbugs
- small cockroach nymphs in homes
Sources
- CDC Where Ticks Live
- UMaine Brown Dog Tick or Kennel Tick
- UF/IFAS Brown Dog Tick
- CDC Tick Life Cycles