Ask A Scientist© Zoology Archive

 
name       Lucas
status     student
age        6

Question - Is there a difference between wood ticks and deer ticks.
We live in Manitoba, Canada and my neighbor says you can
only get lyme disease from deer ticks not wood ticks. we
have here.

Yes, wood ticks and deer ticks are quite different, deer ticks are much
smaller and different colored. I don't know what ticks would be found in
Manitoba, but deer ticks are the ones that can carry lyme disease.
J. Elliott
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Lucas,
I talked with a colleague who is a Lyme disease specialist and I think that
your neighbor is correct. In addition to the deer tick, western black-legged
ticks, found in California as well as Oregon (perhaps north into Canada??),
also carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. Infection by the Lyme
disease bacterium from other tick species, such as wood ticks, does not seem
likely. Therefore, those are the only two ticks that present a significant
problem to people in North America.
CED
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