25 Creepy Tick Facts

By Karin Lehnardt, Senior Writer

Published March 3, 2025

There are about 900 different types of ticks._[5]
A tick's eyes are located between its first and second legs. Scientists believe ticks can only tell light from dark._[5]
There are two main types of ticks: soft and hard._[5]
Unlike a mosquito that uses a proboscis to suck blood, a tick snips open the skin. As blood pools in the space, a tick sucks it in._[5]
A soft tick doesn't eat as much as hard ticks because their opisthosoma can't hold as much. Still, it can swell large enough to increase its body weight about 5 to 10 times._[5]

A tick's Haller's organ can detect humidity, carbon dioxide, and temperature of its prey

Near the first pair of a tick's legs is a sensory organ called Haller's Organ. It helps a tick smell when a host is nearby._[5]
After feeding, a female hard dog tick can increase its weight nearly 600 times._[5]
Ticks transmit diseases such as Lyme, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and the Heartland virus. An estimated 50,000 cases of tick-borne illnesses are reported to the CDC._[5]
Ticks are arachnids, which means they are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than insects._[1]
Ticks can live as long as 200 days without water or food._[3]
Ticks can cause a meat allergy in humans. Called Alpha-gal syndrome, the allergy is caused by a molecule that prompts an immune system response._[1]
The oldest known tick fossils are from the Cretaceous period, or about 100 million years ago._[1]
Ticks can survive in a near vacuum for almost 30 minutes._[7]
Ticks have outlasted even the dinosaurs._[1]
A tick swells only at the end of its meal, which makes it less likely to be noticed by the host before it has finished feeding._[5]

Aggravating a tick can cause it to regurgitate its stomach contents, releasing infectious fluids into a human host

Ticks can even live in Antarctica and feed off penguins._[6]
While most arachnids are able to regrow a lost body part, such as a leg, ticks can't._[5]
In the U.S., over 20,000 people get Lyme disease as a result of tick bites each year._[5]

The most likely place to find a tick on a person is on the thighs

Ticks have evolved to feed on the human body in obscure locations, such as the scalp, armpits, belly buttons, and the back of knees. They also are likely to feed on the chest, waist, upper arms, and wrists._[5]
Ticks require blood to move from one life stage to the next._[1]
Ticks can detect their prey by their prey's breath, body odors, body heat, moisture, and vibrations._[1]
Ticks can not jump or fly. Instead, they "quest," which means they cling to leaves and grass and hold out their first pair of legs waiting to grasp a passing host._[5]
Tick saliva has about 1,500 to 3,000 proteins. Some proteins have anti-inflammatory properties which allow the tick to feed for 8-10 days without the host detecting it._[1]
Ticks do not eat anything else except invertebrate blood._[4]
Tick-borne illness are increasing in the U.S. partly because global warming is expanding the tick's range._[2]