are black legged ticks deer ticks
How ticks find their hosts. Ticks can't fly or jump. Instead, they wait for a host, resting on the tips of grasses and shrubs in a position known as questing. While questing, ticks hold onto leaves and grass by their lower legs. They hold their upper pair of legs outstretched, waiting to climb onto a passing host. When the deer tick has consumed a blood meal, its abdomen will be a light grayish-blue color, whereas the tick itself is chiefly black. In identifying an engorged tick, it is helpful to concentrate on the legs and upper part of the body. Adults have dark brown or black legs, thus the common name “black-legged” tick. Deer tick nymphs are very small, about the size of a poppy seed, and can be difficult to see. The six-legged deer tick larvae are even smaller, typically less than 1 mm. The tick feeding process makes ticks very good at transmitting infection: Depending on the tick species and its stage of life, preparing to feed can take from 10 minutes to 2 hours. When the tick finds a feeding spot, it grasps the skin and cuts into the surface. The tick then inserts its feeding tube. Tick Species of Maine - Deer Tick or Black-legged Tick. Scientific Name: Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes dammini (In 1993, I. scapularis and I. dammini were found to be the same species. Ixodes scapularis is now the accepted scientific name) Common Name: Deer tick or Black-legged tick. Description: Adult females are typically less than 1/8 inch in length and males are slightly smaller. Adult females are brown to reddish-orange in color with a dark brown to black dorsal shield or scutum on the back, directly behind their head. Also called black-legged ticks, deer ticks are common in woods and grassy areas of the Northeast and northern United States. Reddish-brown adults like the one shown here are only one-eighth of an inch long. Tiny immature ticks that are about the size of a poppy seed also bite. Deer ticks infected with the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi can cause Lyme disease in people, dogs, and cats. You might not even notice the tick or its bite. But if you do, remove the tick within 48 hours to limit your chances of getting Lyme disease. Adult brown dog ticks are about the size and color of the deer tick. The bites of brown dog ticks can be extremely dangerous to your pet: They can cause diseases like ehrlichiosis, babesiosis (a parasite infection of the blood), and bartonellosis. Tick Species of Maine - Deer Tick or Black-legged Tick. Scientific Name: Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes dammini (In 1993, I. scapularis and I. dammini were found to be the same species. Description: Adult females are typically less than 1/8 inch in length and males are slightly smaller. As a young tick, it prefers small rodents and lizards. As an adult, the western black-legged tick affects humans, pets, deer, and other large mammals. It's also a carrier of Lyme disease and anaplasmosis, which has symptoms similar to the flu: fever, headache, and chills. 1 If the host animal has certain bloodborne infections, such as the Lyme disease agent, the tick may ingest the pathogen and become infected. If the tick later feeds on a human, that human can become infected.  After feeding, the blacklegged tick drops off and prepares for the next life stage.
Yes, black-legged ticks, deer ticks are common in woods and grassy areas of the Northeast and northern United States.