Humans less frequently encounter soft ticks (Argassidae) which are capable of transmitting diseases to humans in Utah. During the feeding process, diseases can be transmitted from the tick to humans or other animals. When feeding, adult females can increase their body weight 100-120 times the pre-feeding weight. Because of this, hard ticks will stay attached to the host for 2 to 3 days as a larva and up to 2 weeks for adult females. Hard ticks’ bodies grow to accommodate their blood meal as they become engorged (Fig. Once firmly in place, a tick will secrete antihistamines, anticoagulants and other enzymes to promote blood feeding. After the cement hardens, ticks become very difficult to remove. When the mouthparts are in place, hard ticks secrete a cement-like substance that will help anchor the tick to the host’s skin. The tick secrets a numbing agent in the saliva as the hypostome pushes into the skin, so bites are typically painless. Scissor-like mouthparts (chelicerae) are used to cut into the skin and the barbed hypostome (straw-like mouthpart) is inserted. Hard ticks don’t simply bite, they attach. Tick engorgement stages from unfed (left) to In Utah, humans and pets mostly come in contact with three-host ticks in the nymph or adult stage while seeking larger mammalian hosts. After hatching, two- and three-host tick larvae will seek rodents, lizards, and other small hosts, while one-host ticks will search for their primary host species. Female hard ticks will die after completing egg-laying. Egg laying can take weeks to complete, and eggs can number in the thousands. Mating occurs on-host, and the female will drop to the ground to lay eggs. Ticks must take a blood meal between each life stage to molt and reproduce successfully. Two-host ticks occur on one host as immatures and on another host in the adult stage. Three-host ticks will attach to three different animal hosts during their life, while the one-host ticks attach to one host and remain on that host throughout their lives. The number of hosts a tick will attach to depends on the tick species. Ticks range in size from 2 mm to 20 mm depending on the life stage and species. Visually, ticks appear to have one body segment, but two distinct segments exist, the gnathosome (mouthparts) and the idosome (body). Adult and nymphal ticks have eight legs, while newly hatched larvae have six legs and are very tiny. Hard ticks (Ixodidae) have four distinct life stages: egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Ticks are of medical concern because pathogens (bacteria, viruses or protozoa) can be transmitted when infected ticks feed on humans. ![]() Many species of ticks occur in Utah, but most live in close association with their hosts and would never encounter humans. ![]() ![]() In Utah, ticks are usually found on grasses, low plants, and sagebrush, waiting to attach to a host (Fig. albipictus) and the western blacklegged tick ( Ixodes pacificus). Less frequently encountered ticks include the winter fern tick ( D. The brown dog tick ( Rhipicephalus sanguineus) may occasionally be brought into homes on infested dogs or animals. 1) is the most commonly encountered tick for humans and pets. The Rocky Mountain wood tick ( Dermacentor andersoni Fig.
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