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The Two Year Life-Cycle Of The Deer Tick

Life-cycle of Ixodes scapularis(a.k.a. blacklegged or deer tick) in the northeast/mid-Atlantic/upper mid-western United States. Larval deer ticks are active in August and September but these ticks are pathogen-free. Ticks become infected with pathogens when larvae (or nymphs) take a blood meal from infectious animal hosts. Engorged larvae molt over winter and emerge in May as poppy-seed sized nymphal deer ticks. Please note that most cases of Lyme disease are transmitted from May through July, when nymphal-stage ticks are active. Adult-stage deer ticks become active in October and remain active throughout the winter whenever the ground is not frozen. Blood-engorged females survive the winter in the forest leaf litter and begin laying their 1,500 or more eggs around Memorial Day (late May). These eggs hatch in July, and the life-cycle starts again when larvae become active in August.

Learn More At TickEncounter

The above text and image was provided by TickEncounter. You can learn more about the two-year life-cycle of the deer tick by visiting the University of Rhode Island TickEncounter Resource Center.

Learn More at the UMaine Cooperative Extension

The above image was provided by the UMaine Cooperative Extension. You can also learn more about the two-year life-cycle of the deer tick by visiting the UMaine Cooperative Extension's website.