Ticks have only six legs during their larval stage and eight legs during their nymphal and adult stages.
The deer tick is smaller than a pinhead
Blacklegged (deer) ticks, carriers of Lyme disease, like to spend the winter nestled in the fur of a deer.
In addition to Lyme disease, ticks can also transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, relapsing fever and ehrlichiosis.
With Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness, about 30-50% of victims get a pinkish bull's-eye type rash but victims are more likely to feel like they have the flu.
With Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tick-borne illness, victims may experience fever, chills, headache, vomiting, fatigue and small red spots or blotches that begin on the wrists, ankles, palms and soles of the feet.
Although Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a tick-borne disease, was first discovered and recognized in the Rocky Mountain area, relatively few cases are reported from that area today.
Tick paralysis is a tick-borne disease that is caused by the toxins in tick saliva and can occur when the tick remains continuously attached for 2-7 days.