A brown dog tick.
The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, is a parasitic arachnid. They feed on blood, usually from dogs, although they have been known to bite people. Unlike most other ticks, brown ticks can live their entire lives indoors as long as they have a warm, dry environment. Their ability to live indoors means these ticks can be found in homes anywhere in the world.
Brown ticks usually feed on dogs, but can also bite people.
Both male and female brown ticks feed on the blood of their hosts. Before feeding, ticks are the size of poppy seeds. After feeding, the female swells to the size of a raisin. The male does not increase in size after feeding. These ticks are distinguished from others by their hexagonally based capitula, a body part located behind the mouth part that resembles an angled collar.
Brown dog ticks can be identified by their color.
Another identifying characteristic of the brown dog tick is its color. Behind the base chapters is an area called a shield. The scutes, the base of the bapituli, the mouthparts, and the legs of brown ticks are reddish-brown. After the female tick feeds, the swollen part of her body turns a bluish-gray color. The rest of her body remains reddish brown.
The female brown bitch tick can lay up to 5,000 eggs on the floor, carpet, or in cracks and crevices. After hatching, the larvae find hosts and feed for about three days before dropping out. They hatch into nymphs after about a week and then find another host. After feeding for about four days, the nymphs fall off and develop into adults. Adult ticks find hosts and feed until the females are ready to lay their eggs, at which point they drop and the cycle repeats.
Depending on sex and type, ticks can expand to different sizes, as large as a grape or as small as an apple seed, when they feed on blood.
Controlling brown dog tick infestations can be difficult due to their behavior between life cycles. Tick species that remain attached to their hosts are easier to eradicate. A brown dog tick must not only be removed from the host, but the carcass also needs to be treated. These ticks are susceptible to several insecticides, including fibronil, amitraz, permethrin, and deltamethrin.
Ticks are responsible for a number of canine diseases. The brown dog tick transmits babesia and canine ehrlichiosis. These ticks rarely feed on people unless there is a heavy infestation or their main food source is removed. In the United States, brown dog ticks can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In other parts of the world, ticks are known to spread Mediterranean spotted fever and tick typhus.