Deer tick nymph

I was very thankful to observe a little bit of...something...on my dog's face about a week ago. I went up to him and let this tiny speck of a parasite crawl on to my finger.

That deer tick nymph would have gone unnoticed on 98% of his body as he's a Shetland Sheepdog. I am relatively certain that 99% of us would have never known it was on us, either. This makes me wonder how many I miss on myself or on him. All he had done was go outside in the yard at home with me watching his every step. Please be careful where you walk, run, hike, play, or whatever else, and please take the time to check yourself for even nearly microscopic ticks like this one at this time of year. This is why Connecticut has to focus on restoring the balance of wildlife in its woodlands while removing non-native and/or invasive plants as high levels of certain mammal species combined with plants ticks favor all help to maintain these ridiculously high populations in our own backyards.

Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician

Photo by Scott Kruitbosch © Connecticut Audubon Society and not to be reproduced without explicit CAS permission