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Lifespan of a Tick

Ticks are arachnids with a body, head, four pairs of legs and no antennae. Ticks transmit serious diseases to humans. During a tick's lifespan it sucks the blood of animals and humans where it can pick up diseases and spread them around.

  1. Ticks are Born Disease Free

    • Ticks are born disease free. They live approximately two years. During their life cycle they will only feed on three different hosts, whether they be human or animal. They feed only once in each cycle or phase of their life.

    Larvae

    • Tick eggs hatch and become larvae between the months of May and September. They are very small, the size of a pinhead. During the larvae stage a tick will take one feeding off of a small rodent or bird.

    Larvae Lifespan

    • According to the Minnesota Department of Health, when describing a tick's first meal, "if the mouse is infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease or other diseases, the larva will become infected and be able to transmit the disease(s) during its second feeding as a nymph."

    Nymph

    • After the tick has eaten as a larva, it will molt into a nymph and become dormant until springtime. The nymph becomes active again in May through August, when he will take his second feeding.

    Nymph's lifespan

    • If the nymph was infected during the larvae stage he will pass the disease on during this feeding. If he was not previously infected, he can become infected now if he feeds on an infected animal. The nymph tick is the size of a small freckle or mole.

    Adult

    • After the nymph stage, the tick molts into an adult. Adult ticks vary in size but are approximately 1/16 of an inch. The male tick will mate with a female tick, feed on a large mammal and then die. The female will also feed on a large mammal, lay her 3,000 eggs, and then die.

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