Lone Star Tick: What Are They And Where Do They Live?

Whether you take your pet for a hike, a walk along a wooded trail, or a run in a field of grass, there are lots of pesky outdoor insects that could cause your pet harm.

There are many ways to keep your pet safe and protecting them against external parasites like the Lone Star tick is an important reason to do so.

Tick bites not only cause irritation and skin issues, but they can also spread disease to your pet’s bloodstream, causing them to get very sick. Some tick bites even hurt.

Knowing where Lone Star ticks are often found, what they look like, and the consequences of being bitten can help you make decisions for prevention and possible treatment.

What Is the Lone Star Tick?

The Lone Star tick, also known as Amblyomma americanum, is an external parasite that affects dogs, cats, and people. External parasites are those found on the outside of the body, but they can spread disease to the rest of the body.

Adult Lone Star ticks are brown with eight legs and a long head, or mouthparts.

These ticks are on the larger side when compared to other ticks and are significantly larger than the deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). The adult Lone Star tick is usually 1/3 inch long but increases to about 1/2 inch after a blood meal.

This kind of tick has noticeable differences in males and females. The female Lone Star tick, the most common, has a silvery-white spot in the center of her back. The male has white streaks or spots all along the margins of the body.

The Lone Star tick uses three different hosts to complete its four-stage life cycle from an egg to six-legged larva to eight-legged nymph and then adult. This life cycle takes two years to complete.

When the Lone Star tick bites, it uses its mouth to break through the skin. They use a cement-like substance to hold on tight after they bite.

After the female tick bites and takes a blood meal from her host animal, she falls off and lays thousands of eggs on the ground. After the female lays her eggs, she dies. While male Lone Star ticks also bite, they don’t latch on as long as females do.

In the spring, the female’s eggs hatch into six-legged larvae. In the winter, the larvae seek out their first host, a small rodent. Later in the summer, the larvae leave their first hosts and molt into nymphs.

During the following spring, the nymphs attach to a second host (like another rodent or rabbit), feed, and drop off to molt into adults.

The next spring, the tick seeks its third host.

This could be a cat, dog, person, or a large or small wild mammal. It attaches to this host, takes a blood meal, and females fall off to lay eggs and die.

Where Is the Lone Star Tick Found?

Lone Star tick adults, part of a group called wood ticks, are often found in woodlands with dense, thick overgrowth, and around creeks and rivers where animals rest (such as nests).

Nymphs prefer sandy soil, and they carry the same infectious diseases as the adult tick does (larvae are not infectious).

The Lone Star tick is a very common external parasite in the eastern, southeastern, and south-central United States. However, it’s also been known to have large populations outside of these areas.

The Lone Star tick is often found as far west as Texas and in southern Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

The northern range of the Lone Star tick extends up to New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It extends south along the East Coast down to the tip of Florida.

What Diseases Can the Lone Star Tick Spread?

The Lone Star tick was originally not thought of as a threat because it does not cause Lyme disease, but it can cause other diseases in dogs and cats that are equally (if not more), serious.

The Lone Star tick can spread diseases like tularemia, ehrlichiosis, and rickettsia (Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever) in pets.

It can also transmit other less common diseases, such as Bourbon virus, Heartland virus, and Lone Star virus.

Lone Star ticks can spread a deadly disease in cats called bobcat fever, which does not affect dogs.

Can the Lone Star Tick Cause a Red Meat Allergy?

Luckily, dogs and cats are not affected by alpha-gal syndrome (AGS), which affects people that are bitten by a Lone Star tick.

This condition causes humans, apes, and some monkeys to have an allergy to red meat.

Are Lone Star Tick Diseases Treatable?

Diseases caused by the Lone Star tick are both treatable and manageable. Depending on the severity of the symptoms—which usually is based on the length of the infection—different treatment options are used.

Some pets need to be hospitalized on IV fluids, antibiotics, and supportive care, such as pain medication. Severe cases of low blood platelets and anemia often need to be treated with a blood transfusion.

Doxycycline is the most common antibiotic used for both dogs and cats for tick disease treatment.

How To Prevent Lone Star Tick Bites

Protecting your pet and yourself from tick disease spread by the Lone Star tick uses multiple routes.

The life cycle of the Lone Star tick takes two years, so having fewer ticks in the environment is one of the best ways to prevent the issue.

• Have your yard regularly treated with the proper insecticides against ticks. Using EPA-approved products containing permethrins works best.

• Keep brush and shrubs as trimmed as possible to help reduce tick exposure.

• Use repellents such as this Wondercide® home and pet spray as a great option to help protect both pets and pet parents.

• Give your pet regular flea and tick prevention medications.

  • This is a very important step in preventing Lone Star tick bites and the disease they spread. You can use oral or topical versions. 

  • Bravecto® is a great choice for dogs, and Revolution Plus® is a great option for cats.