Tick Insect?

by Linda Dionne
(Northbrook, Ontario Canada)

Is it a tick insect?

4 legs, brown, head and tear shaped top brown, body white with grey centre. Was burrowing into my side. Not sure what it is.

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Hi Linda,

It's hard to say if the critter you caught biting your side was a tick insect or not from your description.


Part of the description sounds like a tick, and part does not. Do you have a photo by any chance? If so, you can upload it in the form and we can try to identify it that way.


Ticks generally have 8 legs, 4 on each side. You only mentioned 4 legs in total. :)


When removing tick insects from your body, it's really important that you be sure to get the head, too. I assume you did that since
you described the head.


Removal of ticks can be made a bit easier by dabbing them with tea tree oil or methylated spirits to kill them and make them
shrivel up a little. You can then pull them out with a pair of tweezers or even your fingers in some cases.


Human tick bites can result in temporary and minor discomfort to more serious sickness, even Lyme disease. That's why it's so important to get rid of ticks as quickly and thoroughly as possible.


There are a number of different varieties of ticks, so I don't know for sure if what you found is a tick insect or not. Feel free to provide us with more details if you like or ask further questions.


To your good health!
Angie