Lone Star Tick (Amblyomma americanum)
A female Lone Star Tick in the classic "attack" pose -- ready to snag onto any warm blooded creature that happens along.
Lone Star Ticks are not known to transmit Lyme disease. However, according to the Center for Disease Control they do carry STARI (Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness), which has some of the same symptoms as Lyme disease but is not as severe. The pathogen responsible for STARI is not known at the present time. Lone Star ticks can be found from central Texas and Oklahoma eastward across the southern states and along the Atlantic coast as far north as Maine.
A Cornell University webpage list tick bite preventative measures (stay out of the woods during tick season, avoid game trails, spray yourself with DEET, perform frequent personal tick inspections) and the proper tick removal procedure: "Using thin tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull gently and slowly away from the skin." Cornell warns against using any of the numerous methods or substances often recommended for making the tick pull out and release. According to Cornell: "These methods are not effective and may cause the tick to regurgitate into the bite wound."
Lone Star Ticks are not known to transmit Lyme disease. However, according to the Center for Disease Control they do carry STARI (Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness), which has some of the same symptoms as Lyme disease but is not as severe. The pathogen responsible for STARI is not known at the present time. Lone Star ticks can be found from central Texas and Oklahoma eastward across the southern states and along the Atlantic coast as far north as Maine.
A Cornell University webpage list tick bite preventative measures (stay out of the woods during tick season, avoid game trails, spray yourself with DEET, perform frequent personal tick inspections) and the proper tick removal procedure: "Using thin tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull gently and slowly away from the skin." Cornell warns against using any of the numerous methods or substances often recommended for making the tick pull out and release. According to Cornell: "These methods are not effective and may cause the tick to regurgitate into the bite wound."
