Health: Infectious Disease Epidemiology & Prevention Division: Rhipicephalus sanguineus

Common name: Brown dog tick

Brown dog tick. Photo: James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Brown dog tick. Photo: James Gathany, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Geographic Distribution

Present in all Indiana counties and widely distributed throughout the United States. Click here to see the geographic distribution of ticks that bite humans in the United States.
Life Cycle

This is the only tick in Indiana that can complete its lifecycle indoors. It is often associated with pets and indoor environments, especially dog kennels. The brown dog tick can survive very well indoors as well as outdoors. Its life cycle consists of four stages (egg, larva, nymph, and adult). This tick is unique in that all its life stages can feed on the same host species (dogs), but the tick may also bite humans or other animals.
Graphic: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Commonly Associated Diseases
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is transmitted by brown dog ticks in the southwestern U.S. and along the U.S.-Mexico border, but not in Indiana.
Prevention

Page last reviewed/updated: February 2025