Is there another bug, native to Arizona, that looks like a tick?

[Cisco]

Because if not, I've seen 4 ticks in my house in the last 3 days, which is at least equal to but probably greater than the total number of ticks I've seen in the rest of my life. Two in my shower, one in my bathtub, and one on the bathroom floor. I just find it weird, especially since, while ticks aren't unheard of here, the desert isn't really renowned for its prodigious tick population.

[Jragon]

I think so, I never knew what I tick looked like (I was always warned to remove them if I discovered one while hiking in Wisconsin or the forests in Northern Arizona/the mountains but was never unlucky enough to get bitten), but looking at zoomed out pictures there's a bug that I see now and again that looks remarkably similar, and as far as I know I've never had one play parasite with me.

[astro]

Originally Posted by Cisco

Because if not, I've seen 4 ticks in my house in the last 3 days, which is at least equal to but probably greater than the total number of ticks I've seen in the rest of my life. Two in my shower, one in my bathtub, and one on the bathroom floor. I just find it weird, especially since, while ticks aren't unheard of here, the desert isn't really renowned for its prodigious tick population.

Set your camera on macro mode and post a pic.

[Dinsdale]

Originally Posted by Cisco

Is there another bug ... that looks like a tick?

Perhaps

SPOILER:

another tick?

[Mangetout]

Ticks are spider-like arachnids - There are some small, short-legged spiders that look quite tick-like - especially the males, which are often smaller and more compact than females.

Whether there are any such spiders in your locality, I haven't been able to discover.

Looking on the bright side, I guess whatever you're seeing might not be an arachnid at all - it might be.. I dunno... a bedbug or something.

[beowulff]

I've seen absolutely prodigious tick infestations out here. Ticks may not be as common as other places, but once they get established, their populations can grow to enormous numbers.

[pravnik]

How big are they? Whip scorpions look a lot like oversized ticks.

[Cisco]

Originally Posted by astro

Set your camera on macro mode and post a pic.

Well, 3 have gone down the drain and one down the toilet, and I'm hoping I don't see another!

I forgot to count the legs but they're not spiders or scorpions. For sure. They're small. Black. Kinda flat. Not like the huge bulbous green one that was on top of my head when I was 7.

[Palo Verde]

I'm in Arizona too and we had a horrendous tick infestation in our house last year.

Apparently my dog somehow came home with one pregnant tick on her and from then on they were in the carpet, on the kids, crawling on the tile... (shudder).

We had to have the house sprayed every month for almost a year (in addition to putting the dog on anti-tick medication) before we got rid of all of them.

Hope you have an easier time of it.

[beowulff]

Originally Posted by Cisco

Well, 3 have gone down the drain and one down the toilet, and I'm hoping I don't see another!

I forgot to count the legs but they're not spiders or scorpions. For sure. They're small. Black. Kinda flat. Not like the huge bulbous green one that was on top of my head when I was 7.

Sounds like what we call "seed ticks." http://extoxnet.orst.edu/newsletters...esternTick.jpg
Do you have dogs? Or, do the neighbors have dogs?

[Mangetout]

Originally Posted by Cisco

They're small. Black. Kinda flat. Not like the huge bulbous green one that was on top of my head when I was 7.

They could be hard ticks, which I think feed more modestly, but on a more regular basis, or they could be the big bulbous kind, but just without having fed properly yet - they don't start off big and fat - they get that way through being engorged with the host's blood (as I found out when I trod on one that came off a dog)

[Cisco]

Originally Posted by beowulff

Sounds like what we call "seed ticks." http://extoxnet.orst.edu/newsletters...esternTick.jpg
Do you have dogs? Or, do the neighbors have dogs?

Seems like their bodies were a little rounder than that. Yes, I have one small dog.

[beowulff]

Originally Posted by Cisco

Seems like their bodies were a little rounder than that. Yes, I have one small dog.

Check him (her) carefully, especially around the nose and eyes. My black chow was infested with tiny ticks once, and they were small enough to miss I wasn't looking for them.