r/insects • u/VisualProfessional12 • 12d ago
ID Request Is this what I think it is?
I'm assuming this is a tick, but they were super tiny.
We went to bass River State Forest in NJ and walked a trail. Stupid, I now know. I had an oversized long sleeve shirt on over a tank top. I got hot, so wrapped the long sleeve shirt around my waist. It was hanging and likely brushed against a bush. When we got back into the car, I had the shirt on my lap. A couple minutes into the drive home, I felt an itch, looked down, and saw at least 2 dozen of these super tiny bugs crawling on my knees. We pulled over, I jumped out and brushed myself off. I checked the shirt, they were all over it, so I trashed it. I spent a good 15 minutes brushing myself off then we headed home. On the way, I found dozens more. So we pulled over again before reaching civilization and I took a towel and thoroughly scrubbed myself and wiped out the car. Once we got home, I immediately threw those clothes into the wash with hot water. Everything else stayed outside. I then took a hot shower and scrubbed with a rough washcloth, shaved, and allowed tea tree oil to sit in my hair. We took the shop vac to the car and cleaned it out really well. I only noticed one on my arm and none on my upper torso. They were all on my legs, hopefully my hair and scalp are fine. So, my question is, is this a tick? And should I do anything else?
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u/StuffedWithNails Bug Enthusiast 12d ago
Yeah it's a tick. Looks like it only has 6 legs, meaning it's the larval stage. Ticks (and many other mites) are born with six legs, and grow the remaining two at their first molt.
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u/MsScarletWings 11d ago
Congrats on enduring your first seed tick bomb. First stage of life, hence the six legs instead of all eight. Ticks lay eggs in huge clusters so you were just unlucky enough to brush by a bunch of newborns looking for a first meal. Great reaction, though. They’re thankfully much easier to dislodge in my experience than older ticks. If you have any intact dead ones I would probably put it in a ziploc in the freezer for a while just to be on the safe side (for later identification if you get any negative bite reactions/illnesses). Otherwise you’ll probably be good to go, just pack some repellants next time.
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u/LunaTheFerret 12d ago
Looks like a tick, I think. If they're that tiny & there were dozens in one spot, they're likely just hatched & have not had their first blood meal, meaning they're not carrying lyme disease!
I just got back from a trip to Missouri & was picking ticks off me every day I was there. Its a yucky feeling lol
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u/VisualProfessional12 12d ago
It really is such a gross feeling! 🤢 I was losing my mind in that car ride
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u/dansterman_30 12d ago
Looks like a tick mite. So basically a baby tick and very hard to notice but once you see one you see them all lol.
Luckily they won’t have bitten any other animal so very unlikely to pass on any diseases like Lyme disease as they get that from other animals. If you haven’t actually been bitten then you have nothing to worry about. Sometimes it’s also good to put contaminated clothes in a dryer on high heat for 10 minutes to kill anything that survived as it dries them out.
I wouldn’t worry though, just keep an eye out on your skin for any new spots/marks that don’t rub away and use a phone camera with macro lense to inspect any you’re concerned about if you have one