Get to Know Your Backyard Ticks

This guide helps you identify the common backyard ticks in the U.S. and understand the health risks they bring. Ticks are small, blood-feeding arachnids that latch onto humans, pets, and wildlife. They can spread the pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites) that cause serious diseases when they bite.

Peak tick season runs from April through October. Blacklegged ticks are the exception — they can feed year-round when temperatures stay above freezing. Anyone who spends time outdoors should know that these tiny pests are more than a nuisance. They can pose a real health risk. Here's what you need to know to protect your family and pets.

• What Are the Most Common Ticks in the U.S?
• What Disease-Causing Pathogens Can Ticks Transmit?
• When Should I See a Doctor After a Tick Bite?
• How to Check for Ticks
• How Do I Remove an Embedded Tick?
• How to Treat Your Yard for Ticks
• Enjoy the Outdoors
• Tick FAQs

What Are the Most Common Ticks in the U.S?

The four ticks you're most likely to meet in the U.S. are:

American Dog Tick (Dermacentor variabilis, also called wood tick).

• Range: East of the Rocky Mountains, with a small presence on the Pacific coast.
• Habitat: Open grassy areas, scrubland, trails, and walkways in spring and summer.
• Appearance: Females have dark brown bodies with a pale, shield-like scutum behind the head. Males are dark brown with a faint outline around the scutum.
• Pathogens transmitted: Those that can cause tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Blacklegged Tick (Ixodes scapularis, also called deer tick).

• Range: Nearly everywhere east of the Mississippi.
• Habitat: Deciduous forests. Adults are active fall through spring whenever temperatures stay above freezing.
• Appearance: Females have orange-red bodies with a dark scutum. Males are solid dark brown.
• Pathogens transmitted: Those that can cause Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Powassan virus.

Brown Dog Tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus).

• Range: All across the contiguous United States.
• Habitat: Around homes and human settlements. They can live their whole life cycle indoors and cause heavy infestations in houses, kennels, and barns. Active year-round.
• Appearance: Both males and females are solid medium-brown.
• Pathogens transmitted: Those that can cause Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF), Canine Ehrlichiosis, Canine Babesiosis, and Canine Hepatozoonosis.

Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum).

• Range: Coastal Maine to central Nebraska, south to the Rio Grande and Gulf of Mexico.
• Habitat: Shaded grassy areas and low-lying branches and twigs in summer.
• Appearance: Females have a red-brown body with a single white dot. Males have a red-brown body with dark splotches or streaks.
• Pathogens transmitted: Those that can cause Tularemia, Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI), and ehrlichiosis. A bite from this tick can also transmit the virus that causes Alpha-gal Syndrome, a red meat allergy that develops in a unique way. ⁴⁵ Lone star ticks are also aggressive biters.

What Disease-Causing Pathogens Can Ticks Transmit?

The CDC tracks sixteen tick-borne diseases in the United States. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and some cases need hospital care. These illnesses respond well to antibiotics, but they can be tricky to diagnose.¹

Here are seven common tick-borne illnesses to know:

The best way to prevent these illnesses is to prevent the bite. Use bug repellent any time you head into tick country. DEET works against ticks just like it does against mosquitoes. Follow the label directions. For pets, check with your vet — each species has different needs.

When Should I See a Doctor After a Tick Bite?

How to Check for Ticks

After time outdoors, do a tick check. Look closely near openings in your clothes. Get a helper for hard-to-reach spots like your back and scalp. Check your pets too, especially around the head and belly. Found one? Kill it and dispose of it right away.

How Do I Remove an Embedded Tick?

Quick answer: Grab the tick as close to the skin as possible with sharp tweezers, then pull straight out with steady, firm pressure.

This works like removing a splinter. It pulls the tick out fast and limits the flow of fluids from the tick into the bite. Quick removal also cuts your odds of infection — even when the tick is already embedded.

How to Treat Your Yard for Ticks

Different tick problems call for different treatment types. Amdro offers several options to help you target ticks where they hide and protect the areas your family and pets use most.

• Amdro Tick Killer Yard Spray_II — Best for convenient coverage of lawns and landscaped areas. The ready-to-spray bottle attaches directly to your hose and kills ticks by contact, including deer ticks, brown dog ticks, American dog ticks, and lone star ticks. Great for treating grassy areas, wooded edges, patios, and pet zones.
• Amdro Quick Kill Outdoor Insect Killer Concentrate_II and Amdro Quick Kill Outdoor Insect Killer RTS_II — Best for treating garden beds, ornamental landscapes, and naturalized areas where ticks hide. Both products control blacklegged ticks (deer ticks) and brown dog ticks. Choose the concentrate for targeted spot treatments and smaller application areas, or the RTS for convenient large-area treatments with a hose-end sprayer.
• Amdro Quick Kill Lawn Insect Killer Granules_II — Best for season-long lawn protection. The granules spread easily across turfgrass and help control ticks in the lawn for up to two months during peak tick season.

You can also shrink tick habitats with a few yard habits:

• Mow the lawn often and clear tall grass and overgrown shrubs.
• Rake up leaf litter.
• Place a three-foot border of wood chips or gravel between your lawn and any natural areas. Ticks struggle to cross it.³
• Add bird feeders, baths, and houses to invite tick predators.

Enjoy the Outdoors

Cut your tick exposure with repellent and yard treatments. Check for hitch-hikers as soon as you come inside. Always identify the ticks you find in case symptoms show up later — then get rid of them. A few simple steps let you enjoy your yard worry-free.

Always read product labels thoroughly and follow instructions.

Tick FAQs

How long does a tick need to be attached to transmit disease-causing pathogens?
Most tick-borne illnesses, including Lyme disease, need the tick attached for 36 to 48 hours before transmission happens. The sooner you remove it, the lower your risk.

When is peak tick season?
Peak tick season runs from April through October. Blacklegged (deer) ticks stay active year-round when temperatures rise above freezing.

What's the best way to remove a tick?
Use sharp, fine-tipped tweezers. Grasp the tick close to your skin and pull straight up with steady pressure. Don't twist or crush it.

Can my pet get tick diseases too?
Yes. Ticks can transmit pathogens through their bites that may cause illnesses such as Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, and other tick-borne diseases in dogs and cats. Talk to your veterinarian about a tick prevention plan that is appropriate for your pet.

Where do ticks hide in my yard?
Ticks love tall grass, leaf piles, wood stacks, and the edges where lawns meet woods. They wait on grass tips and low branches for a host to brush by.

Do all ticks carry the pathogens that cause Lyme disease?
No. In the U.S., blacklegged ticks (also called deer ticks) are the primary carriers of the pathogens that can cause Lyme disease.

Sources:

1. "Tickborne Diseases of the United States," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2. "Protecting Your Yard," Harvard Health, Lyme Wellness Initiative
3. "Alpha-gal Syndrome | Alpha-gal Syndrome | CDC," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
4. "Alpha-gal Syndrome: Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment, " Cleveland Clinic