Article: Ticks do not have wings, nor do they have antennae. If you have found a bug with either, it is not a tick. Research bugs with similar characteristics to ticks but with wings or antennae if your bug in question has these. Poplar weevils, which are commonly mistaken for ticks, have both wings and antennae. Because ticks are a type of arachnid, like spiders and scorpions, they have 8 legs. If your bug has 6, it is an insect and therefore not a tick. If your bug has less than 6 or more than 8 legs, it is neither an insect nor arachnid but is, regardless, not a tick. Billbugs are the commonly mistaken for ticks because of their near-identical appearance. The way to distinguish between a tick and a billbug is to watch them. Billbugs swarm in groups, whereas ticks are usually alone. Ticks also feed on blood, whereas billbugs do not. As a general rule, billbugs do not hang around or on people and animals. Ticks often do. Both ticks and bed bugs hang around animals and humans. Their method of feeding off of people and animals, however, differs. Ticks burrow into the skin to drink a living creature's blood but bed bugs stay on the skin's surface. Make sure you know whether a bug is a tick or bed bug before removing it from your skin. Without proper precautions, you may remove a tick's body while its head remains lodged in your skin.

What is a summary?
Avoid mistaking bugs with wings or antennae for ticks. Count the number of legs to distinguish it from insects. Watch for bugs that feed on blood and do not travel in groups. Look for bugs that burrow in the skin instead of resting on its surface.