This page quotes a published document. Everything below in quotation marks is copied word for word from https://capcvet.org/guidelines/ixodes-scapularis-and-ixodes-pacificus/, published by CAPC and retrieved on 2026-09-16. The quotations are excerpts; the document itself is linked and is the authority. Nothing has been reworded.
This page quotes the Companion Animal Parasite Council guideline for Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus, section by section: the opening sentences of 8 sections, copied without change and linked to the guideline, which was retrieved on 2026-09-16. The guideline itself is the authority and carries the full text.
The guideline
Companion Animal Parasite Council, Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus, at https://capcvet.org/guidelines/ixodes-scapularis-and-ixodes-pacificus/. Retrieved 2026-09-16. Each heading below is the guideline’s own, and the quotation under it is how that section begins. The full section, and the species tabs where the guideline gives them, are on the linked page.
Synopsis
CAPC Recommends Year-round use of tick control for dogs is particularly important for black-legged ticks (also known as deer ticks) because the adults are most active and likely to feed on dogs and cats in the cooler months. Keeping pets treated with acaricides creates a safer environment for pets and people.
Species
Canine Ixodes scapularis (black-legged tick, also known as deer tick) Click here to view a video on the deer tick Ixodes pacificus (western black-legged tick) Click here to view a video on the western black-legged tick Feline Ixodes scapularis (black-legged tick, also known as deer tick) Ixodes pacificus (western black-legged tick) *Other Ixodes spp. may on occasion parasitize dogs and cats.
Disease
Direct disease caused by tick bite Like any ticks, Ixodes spp. may cause irritation and pruritus around attachment sites. Secondary infections can develop at tick attachment sites, leading to sepsis.
Prevalence
Ixodes scapularis is found throughout the eastern United States as far west as Texas and North Dakota. In recent years, this tick has expanded its geographic range into southern Canada.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is made on physical examination of host, when attached ticks are recognized and recovered. Key features for identifying adult Ixodes spp. are the dark brown to black scutum lacking any white ornamentation, relatively long mouthparts, and the presence of a distinct anal groove arching anterior to the anus on the ventral surface.
Treatment
See general tick recommendations . Products may only be labeled against I. scapularis for dogs and cats, but those products can be assumed to be effective against other Ixodes spp.
Control and Prevention
Because substantial annual, seasonal, and geographic differences occur in prevalence and activity of Ixodes spp. in North America, CAPC supports year-round use of tick-control products on pets. Limited or “seasonal” use of tick control can permit transmission of disease agents, particularly when use of tick control products is discontinued in the cooler months, just as Ixodes spp. adults become most active.
Public Health Considerations
Ixodes spp. that infest dogs and cats also feed on people and can transmit numerous zoonotic agents (described in Disease section). People become infested in the same way as their pets, i.e., by encountering questing ticks in tick-infested habitats.
Continue reading public health considerations on capcvet.org
Sources
- capc-ixodes-scapularis-and-ixodes-pacificusCAPC · retrieved 2026-09-16
“CAPC Recommends Year-round use of tick control for dogs is particularly important for black-legged ticks (also known as deer ticks) because the adults are most” (Synopsis)
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