Bugs That Look Like Ticks But Aren't: Tick Mimics

Bugs That Resemble Ticks

Ticks are small, blood-sucking parasites that latch onto the skin and feed on blood. However, a variety of other creepy crawlers can be mistaken for ticks due to physical similarities. Knowing how to identify ticks and look-alikes is important for getting ticks off before they can transmit disease.

Appearance of Actual Ticks

Ticks have four life stagesegg, larva, nymph, adult. After hatching, ticks must eat a blood meal at every stage to grow, fuel reproduction, and survive. Ticks use their biting mouthparts to anchor themselves for the prolonged blood feast.

Ticks have oval or rounded leathery bodies that enlarge dramatically after feeding. Their legs are visible and they cannot fly or jump. Most ticks are very small, ranging from poppyseed to sesame seed size before feeding. After a large blood meal, soft-bodied ticks can swell to the size of a pea or bean.

Common Tick Mimics

Bugs frequently mistaken for ticks include:

Spider Beetles

Spider beetles come from the Ptinidae family with over 800 species globally. Most spider beetles are tiny, round to oval in shape, and dark brown in color with dense small hairs on their bodies.

Fleas

Fleas are tiny wingless insects 1-4 mm long that feed on animal blood. They have laterally flattened bodies for jumping and may be dark brown in color. Their legs are longer than their bodies and easy to view with the naked eye.

Bed bugs

Bed bugs feed solely on blood and hide near sleeping areas. They are flat, oval, wingless bugs with piercing-sucking mouthparts. Ranging from 1-7 mm, newly fed bed bugs have a bright red, engorged abdomen.

Scabies Mites

Female scabies mites tunnel shallow paths under human skin to lay eggs. Fertilized female mites are circular in shape, 0.2-0.5 mm in size, with eight legs when fully grown. They sometimes resemble dark red bumps.

Bird/Rodent Mites

Bird and rodent mites seek other animal hosts when their main host dies. They crawl on skin and inflict itchy bites. Without a magnifying lens, mites appear as tiny red dots or black specks due to ingested blood.

Differences Between Ticks and Mimics

While the bugs above may seem visually similar to ticks, some key differences exist:

• Ticks latch on and gorge for days while look-alikes briefly bite/feed
• Ticks have clear body segmentation while mimics do not
• Ticks have visible legs and feeding mouthparts
• Look-alikes can usually jump or fly while ticks cannot

Dangers of Tick vs. Mimic Bites

Tick bites pose greater health risks like:

• Anaplasmosis
• Babesiosis
• Borrelia miyamotoi
• Bourbon virus
• Colorado tick fever
• Ehrlichiosis
• Heartland virus
• Lyme disease
• Powassan/deer tick virus
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF)
• STARI
• Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF)
• Tularemia

Mimics may carry less serious pathogens more associated with direct skin irritation, nuisance, or basic infection control in homes/businesses.

Protecting Yourself

Precautions like repellents, frequent tick checks, prompt removal of any attached ticks, and post-bite health monitoring can reduce risks from actual ticks. However, simply squashing or washing look-alike bugs incidentally crawling on your skin poses little health concern.

If a suspected tick is attached for over 24 hours, save the bug in rubbing alcohol for professional identification. Contact your doctor about lab testing and prophylactic antibiotic treatment which may prevent certain tick-borne diseases.

Evaluate Suspected Ticks Carefully

Numerous small pests could be mistaken for disease-transmitting ticks. Consider differences in appearance, behavior, and associated health risks when comparing ticks versus look-alikes. Protect yourself accordingly if you discover an embedded bug that resembles an engorged, blood-filled tick.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.