Regional tick guide

Ticks in Texas

Explore reviewed tick occurrence records for Texas, with links to identification profiles, evidence and practical guidance.

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Tick guide for Texas

About ticks in Texas
Texas supports several human-biting tick species across varied habitats and climates. This guide combines reviewed surveillance evidence with links to VuxLore® Tick ID Centre profiles so visitors can identify relevant species and understand the limits of location records.

Reviewed Texas evidence
A Texas surveillance study examined 1,625 ticks removed from people and submitted between October 2014 and September 2021. Nine species were identified. The most frequently submitted were the lone star tick (48.9%), American dog tick (21.2%), Gulf Coast tick (11.9%), blacklegged tick (10.0%), brown dog tick (3.8%) and Amblyomma mixtum (3.4%). These figures describe this human-submission dataset and are not a complete measure of statewide abundance.

When are ticks active in Texas?
Texas health guidance says ticks are most active during the warmer months of spring and summer. Activity varies by species, habitat, weather and location, and ticks may still be encountered outside peak months.

Tick bites and health
Texas DSHS provides guidance on tick-borne illnesses including ehrlichiosis, spotted fever rickettsioses, tularemia and tick-borne relapsing fever. Finding a tick—or detecting bacterial DNA in a submitted tick—does not by itself establish infection. Remove attached ticks promptly and correctly, monitor for concerning symptoms, and seek professional medical or veterinary advice when appropriate.

How to use this page
Use the species cards below to open detailed Tick ID Centre profiles. Distribution changes over time, surveillance coverage is uneven, and a location with no record should not automatically be treated as tick-free.

Reviewed sources

3

linked tick species

Us state

geographic level

US-TX

location code

3 reviewed species records are currently linked to Texas.

Other established ticks

Dorsal view of an adult female Amblyomma maculatum Gulf Coast tick

Gulf Coast tick

Amblyomma maculatum

Established widespread Amblyomma hard_tick Texas

In a Texas study of 1,625 ticks removed from people and submitted during 2014–2021, Amblyomma maculatum represented 11.9% of submitted ticks. Submission frequency reflects human–tick interactions in the study dataset, not complete statewide abundance.

Quick view

An ornate, aggressive human-biting hard tick found primarily in the southeastern United States, with focal populations reported in other regions.

Identification:

Adults are ornate and have long mouthparts, eyes and festoons. Females have a patterned anterior scutum; males have pale ornamentation across most of the dorsum.

Hosts: Humans, Cattle, Deer, Birds, Small mammals

Habitats: Grassland and shrubland, Woodland edges and trails

Photographs and visible features may be insufficient for definitive identification.

View species
Amblyomma mixtum male and female nymphs and adult female specimens in dorsal and ventral views

Cayenne tick

Amblyomma mixtum

Established widespread Amblyomma hard_tick Texas

In a Texas study of 1,625 ticks removed from people and submitted during 2014–2021, Amblyomma mixtum represented 3.4% of submitted ticks. Submission frequency reflects human–tick interactions in the study dataset, not complete statewide abundance.

Quick view

A member of the Amblyomma cajennense species complex occurring from southern North America through Central America into northern South America.

Identification:

Species-level confirmation should use authoritative morphological keys and, where necessary, expert or molecular examination. Photographs, host and location alone may be insufficient.

Photographs and visible features may be insufficient for definitive identification.

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Adult female and male Rhipicephalus sanguineus brown dog ticks in dorsal view

Brown dog tick

Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Established widespread Texas

In a Texas study of 1,625 ticks removed from people and submitted during 2014–2021, Rhipicephalus sanguineus represented 3.8% of submitted ticks. Submission frequency reflects human–tick interactions in the study dataset, not complete statewide abundance.

Quick view

A globally distributed, dog-associated hard tick able to complete its life cycle in buildings and kennels. UK records are linked to importation; UKHSA reports no current evidence of establishment outdoors or as a resident UK population.

Identification:

Laterally produced angular basis capituli.

Eyes and festoons present.

Scutum lacks ornamentation.

Mouthparts relatively short compared with the basis capituli.

Coxa I has large paired internal and external spurs.

Rhipicephalus sanguineus is a species complex in some literature; expert morphological and sometimes molecular review may be necessary.

Photographs and visible features may be insufficient for definitive identification.

View species

Practical tick guidance

Related guidance

Use these VuxLore® resources alongside the location records and species profiles above.

Identify ticksSpecies, life stages and identification guidance Prevent and checkReduce exposure and perform thorough tick checks Remove ticksRemoval methods, tools and common problems Bites, symptoms and healthSourced guidance about bites, symptoms and disease

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