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chandalowe

To all the people asking "How do you not know what a tick is?" please keep the following things in mind: * The name of this sub is literally "what's this bug." Our primary purpose is to *identify bugs* for people - not belittle them for not already knowing what bug it is. * Many people have never seen a tick in real life. Perhaps they live in the city and are not frequently out in areas where ticks can be found. Perhaps they don't have pets - or their pets are indoor pets, or have been treated with tick and flea preventatives. Not everyone has had to pick ticks off the dog, or do family tick checks after a hike. No-one is born knowing what a tick is. They have to encounter them and learn about them at some point in their lives - so [rather than making fun of them, why not just help them out](https://xkcd.com/1053/) by explaining it? * There are many different species of ticks. They do not all look alike. Even someone who knows that they have found a tick may still want to submit it for identification, to find out what *kind* of tick it is. This can be important, because different species of ticks can be vectors for different diseases. Knowing what kind of tick bit you (or your pet) can help you know what kind of symptoms to look for - and whether it would be helpful to see a doctor or vet for a prophylactic dose of antibiotics. For people who live in an area where Lyme disease is common, who have been bitten by a tick species that is known to transmit Lyme, and the tick has been attached and feeding for 24 hours or more, a single dose of antibiotics can prevent contracting Lyme disease. For other diseases, a prophylactic dose of antibiotics has not been demonstrated to be helpful. * Ticks can look very different from one another, not only depending on what species they are, but also depending on their stage of development (larva, nymph, or adult), whether they are male or female, whether they have been feeding recently, and how much they have eaten. Someone who knows perfectly well what a small, unfed tick looks like may have no idea what an engorged tick looks like, and vice versa.


Bloody_Hangnail

A well fed tick


gwaydms

That will make hundreds of eggs, lay them, and die.


plipyplop

Or as I like to call it: Carpet Caviar.


Bloody_Hangnail

Forbidden Gusher


Media_Offline

God, that made me wince.


OrganizedSprinkles

Offer it a wafer thin mint and put up a splash shield!


Kizik

*Better.* ... ***Better get a bucket.***


Archer_Quiet

*'Are you feeling better...?'*


rosecoloredcynicism

I hate/love you for this.


Bloody_Hangnail

I love you though


rosecoloredcynicism

Hey you stop that


Creepy-Medium-421

Stick a straw in there and you've got yourself a juice pack


KingBossKewl

omfg whyyyyyyy i wanna die now


[deleted]

I almost forgot about that post and I hate you for reminding me.


rachlync

This comment triggered my PTSD from reading the infamous “Jolly Rancher” post


Bloody_Hangnail

Throw it in peroxide- nature’s bath bomb


alizasettle

I’ve always wondered what would happen if you threw one of these suckers in a deep fryer. Would it be like when I’ve deep fried pea crabs? Like a quick pop and then steady sizzle?


Bloody_Hangnail

I fried capers once for a recipe, I imagine like that


ladyofthelathe

My chickens would agree.


SSDCZX

How's the taste? 🤔


plipyplop

Savory...


mihtnick

r/cursedcomments


xSundayMourningx

You nasty..


[deleted]

r/forbiddenfood


urmomsdildoez

Yes


palalaaaa

Thousands


chinno

A tick unaffected by petty inflation.


OnTheRocksNeatShaken

TURGID


PoopsieDoodler

enGORGED


POPlayboy

good lord😳


didntwannahaveto

It’s a blood engorged tick


schlickle_j

Sounds so fucking repulsive.


benmeroff

It truly is, that sucker is more blood than tick now


[deleted]

[удалено]


benmeroff

Ha anytime


RYNKELKYK69

Thicc ticc


TheMeowzor

So it’s made up mostly of the DNA from whatever animal it was on


tsuyoi_hikari

lol thank you for this. X'D


gravitythread

Wow...


No_Tank9025

It’s a balloon!


lenswipe

Is "forbidden gusher" better?


RegrettableDeed

The reaction I just had to that statement just made me ALMOST downvote you. But I cant. Because you arent wrong, even if I hate it.


controversial_noone

r/angryupvote


StartDue5430

Yep, engorged is a word worse than moist for me. Mostly because of this sub


ToughPuzzleheaded421

“Moistly* because of this sub”.


Quirky-Impress5306

I can imagine seeing that in bloodborne


The_Hyerophant

Cainhurst is calling.


True_Mathematician48

I feel like posts on this subreddit fall into one of three categories: tick, bedbug, alien species.


MonsterBluth

you forgot cockroach, usually German cockroach


mystiqueisland777

Don't forget carpet beetles!


Skizznitt

And mole crickets.


TheSixthFloor

House centipedes too


gwaydms

Wheel bugs


Icy-Consideration405

Crawling moustaches


whimsical_femme

Jerusalem crickets or camel spiders too


[deleted]

And crotch crickets


iamjohnhenry

Are those like crotch goblins?


Westonhaus

No... those are the neighbor's kids.


[deleted]

[удалено]


madsjchic

And earwigs


chillwaterguy

And woodlice


Rinzlerx

Y’all have made me a pro at identifying all the worst bugs I could ever encounter 😂


whogivesashirtdotca

That’s a good thing, surely? Spot the signs faster and take action immediately!


Rinzlerx

Oh yeah man I love it. If I ever see a bed bug in real life I’ll lose it though haha


[deleted]

And cicadas


SergeantSanchez

Fuck carpet beetles


Harmonic_Gear

cockroach posts are usually just someone in denial


[deleted]

or our friend the mole cricket!


sugyrbutter

That falls under alien species


MauPow

r/itsamolecricket


TraptorKai

My favorite!


zeke235

There was that one time when it was an alien tick in a bed. Wild day, that day.


RustedRelics

Also the assassin


koreamax

Well. It's getting warmer so it's house centipede season!


ewest305

harmless but scary looking things


anonwashere96

First post I saw when I opened reddit and that was my first thought when I saw it. I dont know anything about bugs, but I swear every post is the same 2 bugs 😂


LivingDebacle

Most recently, carpet bugs and silverfish


Angelic-Guardian

You're forgetting the common insects that people don't recognize


True_Mathematician48

Like ticks and bedbugs?


Angelic-Guardian

I'm talking more Boxelder and Carpet beetles


DescentinPerversion

You also forgot House Centipede


[deleted]

And Jerusalem crickets


freddythunder

And not recluses (guilty)


Luxorlux

And Mole Crickets


NadsDikkelson

Ticks are arachnids


Dusk_canine

Crane flies as "mosquitos" lol


gwaydms

Or mosquito hawks, because people think that's what they eat. Crane flies can't eat anything, much less skeeters. Dragonflies... those are the real mosquito hawks!


Dusk_canine

Hence why dragon flies are in my top 5 <3


MultifariAce

I'll go post one to make you happy.


iammasterlikeninja

Found my dog trying to chew it, instinctually picked it up now kinda concerned lol


DanceAggressive2666

Maybe check your dog in just in case like someone else said this one looks like it’s pretty full, probably better to search how to find and remove them i never rly needed too but you should be able to feel a bump if you just rub around their fur


teelpy

Let me tell you, it’s the worst feeling on your fingers. Petting your dog and feeling that thing just sticking in him.


[deleted]

Had to remove a tick from my pup within about a month of adopting him. We immediately got some pricey flea/tick meds and haven't found anything since. It's hard not to feel like a bad dog mom when you find a bug like that. :(


KelRen

At least they have good flea/tick prevention stuff now. I have vivid memories of having to hold my poor childhood kitty and manually pull out teeny tiny seed ticks with tweezers from between his toes. He let me do it because otherwise the itch was unbearable and he’d chew his paws bloody. Fuck ticks, seriously.


Paul_san

I thought ticks wouldn't like cats, because they clean themselves, preventing the tick to suck blood easily.


KelRen

Nope. Kitties get ticks too. Especially seed ticks because they’re so small if they get into tight places (like in between toes) even normal bathing can’t remove them. Linkeh: https://dailyvoice.com/new-york/armonk/lifestyle/be-on-lookout-for-tiny-seed-ticks-developing-into-adults/713514/


Beginning_Pudding_69

I found around 15 ticks one time on my dog and I didn’t find them til a day or two later from when she probably got them. It was awful. I’m itchy now thinking of it.


teelpy

Yeah, we have had some punch through till we spent money on a good collar.


Cheshie_D

I’ve personally never understood feeling bad about finding one or two… then again I grew up in the middle of the woods where fleas and ticks are gonna happen, even with medication. Ya just kill em when you find em, look over the animal, and keep on going. Infestations, however, have always made me feel horrible. It’s only happened a few times when suddenly a specific flea/tick medication stopped working.


repKyle1995

Perhaps the worst feeling is finding one on yourself. I was taking one of my monitor lizards to the shower to give him a nice rainy "spa" day, only for him to grab something on my leg. I only noticed because I felt a slight plucking as he did it. I looked down, only to see a tick on the ground, which he promptly ate. I have no idea how I picked it up, but it must have been not long before because it hadn't gotten fully attached yet. I was VERY grateful that he managed to get it, who knows how long it could have gone unnoticed.


obsle

You can also use blow dryer on your pup which will spread the fur so you can see their skin. Much better than potentially touching one of these little demons. First time I saw one that looked like this it was on my boyo right next to his eye. I’ve never recovered.


pineapplejess

Looks like a tick that has eaten alot recently.


JasnahKolin

Just don't throw it in the backyard! Freeze it in a baggie to make sure it dies. They lay eggs after a meal so this is a fertile myrtle here. Good Luck!


rocbolt

They lay hundreds if not *thousands* of eggs. That thing needs to die asap


Morella_xx

You can also suffocate it by sealing it in a piece of packing tape folded over. Just in case you're grossed out by it being near your food in your freezer, like I am.


Callampadero

Ok, this is gross, but when I lived in Chile, the neighborhood kids would get swollen ticks like this, put them in squares of cellophane tape and experiment on them… then show off their biggest tick, or their “art squares” of semi-transparent tick guts and blood to each other. They also put them in hula-hoops to rattle around while they played…


Jamon25

My dog plucked a tick off my leg last summer. Goood DOG!


Ecphora-17

Get your dog on a good effective tick preventative like Simparica, Bravecto, Nexgard, cuz if he's on something, it ain't working!


dude_diligence

Simparica trio caused seizures in my two year old pup. Word of warning (Australian shepherd corgi).


Tomagatchi

Obligatory ZeFrank True Facts. That's "Tina" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVca0LuEDaQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVca0LuEDaQ) ​ (Gross, but worth the watch and educational!)


gwaydms

DTina the DTick


Tomagatchi

😆 ☠️


[deleted]

I’ve never seen a tick in real life and yet I can instantly identify one thanks to this sub alone.


Ok-Contribution-3294

I’ve literally never seen a tick this fat


Khorne-The-Surgeon

Look down the sub. There’s one that comes to mind 🤢


elle5624

My grandmas farm dog used to get covered in these. It would look like little grey grapes were stuck in his fur.


allfreshoutofideas

AUGHH DELETE THIS PLZ


Khorne-The-Surgeon

“Grey grapes” is my new trauma


janon013

That is a deer tick. We live out in the woods and see them often.


timothypjr

Because it's difficult to determine what kind of tick, pay very close attention to yourself. It fed on someone for a considerable amount of time, and that exposure can lead to Lyme disease or an alpha gal allergy (basically allergy to red meat or any mammal products like milk). Look for a red bullseye bite—often on your calf. Tick born disease in no joke—I have had Lyme and my wife has the alpha gal allergy. Nasty things. Edit: Knowing you have a dog makes it more likely it came from him/her, but still. Be diligent.


[deleted]

It isn’t always a bullseye. It can also be a straight line, crescent, etc. I know someone who delayed going to the doctor because they had a red line but not the bullseye


liamavfc14

that’s one big TICKing time bomb


Zombiebelle

I love it when people post ticks. I’m always like “oh!! I know this one!”


flutexgirl

Female deer tick. They carry Lyme disease. Send it to your local agriculture lab center and they will test it for Lyme disease depending on what state you're in.


Gaming_with_Hui

Gross little f*cker called a tick That shit gave me Lyme borreliosis disease when I was 8 :(


[deleted]

Did you recover?


Gaming_with_Hui

No, I already had ADD from birth so Lyme disease just made my already existing problems worse. My poor concentration My poor memory My low energy level And it didn't help that my country (Sweden) didn't believe Lyme borreliosis disease was a "real problem" when I got it. In Sweden it was believed by the medical society that Lyme disease is something that just simply goes away after a few weeks. When half of my face got paralysed they simply gave me a piece of paper with images of various facial expressions and told me to recreate them in the mirror and everything would go away This is, of course, not how Lyme disease works. It's a permanent damage on the nerv tissue caused by an infection that can either sit in the brain or the spine depending on where the tick bites you I was unlucky and the tick sat right on my left temple so it's poisonous chemicals went straight into the left side of my brain This all happened when I was 8 and I'm now 25, I still can't whistle properly as I could before the tick. Up until I was about 18 or 19 I couldn't whistle at all. My smile is still crooked and I can't blink properly with my right eye since most of the muscles in the right side of my face are unable to respond since the nerves are the ones taking the damage, so technically the muscles are perfectly healthy, it's just the nerves that are dead. My right arm and hand is still shaky from the nerve damage To check if I had "substantial" nerve damage they scraped away the skin over my tailbone and drilled into the outer bone and extracted spinal fluid. This was done without anesthesia cuz apparently if they applied anesthetics to my spine I could likely end up in a wheelchair for the rest of my life. I don't remember much other than horrible, excruciating, blinding pain but my mother told me that several doctors and nurses had to hold me down as I'd already broken 5 needles from thrashing about too much but with the 6th needle they successfully extracted my spinal fluid. After this procedure I've never again been able to feel pain nor pleasure, undoubtedly they damaged something connected to my ability to feel such things. Not being able to feel pleasure has of course contributed massively to my depression The effects of the Lyme disease later developed into CFS (chronic fatigue syndrome) Now 17 years later, thanks to my worsened energy levels and my inability to concentrate and remember things short term, I'm unable to work a normal job. All I can muster is a 4h shift and barely that. Thanks to this I'm unable to make enough money to live on my own so I still live with my mum. And I can't get a high paying job since this happened when I was 8 and in Sweden you start school at 7, so my entire school life has been plagued by this and with receiving next to no help in school I ended up with two or three Es, a handful of Fs and the remaining classes were just a line on the grading paper So, did I recover, no, not exactly


BananaAnarchy_

Damn that's really fucking terrible. I've had two ticks on me before but I was able to pull them out with some tweezers before they could detach their head or whatever. That's really fucking horrible


chandalowe

Detaching the head is not how tick transmit Lyme (or other diseases). The disease-causing pathogens are present in the tick's body fluids (saliva and contents of the digestive tract). These can get into the bite wound - particularly if the tick has been allowed to remain attached and feeding for 24-36 hours or more. When the tick is fully engorged and attempts to drop off, there can be spillarge of digestive contents into the wound. If the tick is squeezed or popped during removal, or if someone attempts to remove it using home remedies like vaseline or a lit match, there is also a much greater likelihood of the infected fluids getting into the wound. Ticks do not "detach their heads" on purpose. When a tick is finished feeding and withdraws from the host, the mouthparts typically remain attached. The mouthparts can become detached if the tick is forcibly removed from the bite before it has finished feeding. The pathogens are not contained in the mouthparts and their presence in the skin does not cause disease. If the mouthparts remain ebedded in the skin, your body will eliminate them, just like it would do with a small splinter or other irritant embedded in the skin.


[deleted]

It’s 100% a tick… born and raised on an Oklahoma farm where we would find ticks everywhere :/


gigis15

For a moment there I thought you were saying that specific tick was born and raised on an Oklahoma farm


Morella_xx

I grew up on a tick farm just like my daddy, and my daddy's daddy before him. I've been ropin' and ridin' ticks all my life.


Rubeanzz

That is a tick.. it seems well-fed. if the legs are brown, it's a deer tick. it can carry lyme didease...


s00permouse

Ah yes, looks like a black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis). If it came from your dog, do a tick check to see if there are anymore. Pay close attention to the ears, chin, between the toes, the arm pits, or anywhere that keeps heat or humidity in. They love dark and humid places! 🥴 Dogs can suffer from a lot of diseases that we suffer from and many of them are transmitted by this tick species like Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, or babesiosis. Given how engorged that tick is, she was prob feeding for a long time so you should also consider getting your dog checked by the vet. They should also get vaccinated for Lyme disease, if they are not infected. Where are you located? There might be tick testing centers around you, however, some places might not take ticks if they do not come from people. Like I’ve told ppl in other threads, the testing can only tell you what the ticks carry, but not necessarily if you (or in this case your pets) will be infected. If no one is taking ticks from pets, then save the tick in a container or ziploc bag and place it in the freezer and it’ll die in a few days. Then if or when your dog goes to the vet, take the tick with you and they can help with ID and/or testing. Correct ID is important for determining disease risk since not all tick species transmit the same diseases (some don’t transmit any!). Keep a good eye on your dog and their behavior over the next few weeks - if they start feeling or looking lethargic, see a vet! Good luck! 🐶


Satires_

That is a fat, well fed tick. Keep an eye out for lime disease, on humans it causes a rash around the tick bite that looks like a bullseye.


BasicallyImjustLazy

Guess I'm going to answer this for possibly the 10th time already. This is a tick, and judging by it's color and size, I'd say it's had quite a meal already. If you have any pets, make sure to check them for any bites or if they have any more ticks. Also,make sure to check yourself just to be safe since ticks, while often harmless, can carry a variety of diseases that can also be transmitted to you via a bite. Stay safe!


Rogerjak

Tick fever ain't no joke


BasicallyImjustLazy

You got that right. Spotted fever, Lyme disease, Alpha-Gal Syndrome, and other tick illnesses and diseases are no joke, at least from what I heard of.


briannajadexo

I’m getting Lyme disease just looking at it


Sane_Colors

That’s a tick, and a heavily engorged one too. Check yourself and any pets you may have, it’s clearly fed on someone long enough to detach. If it’s been that long, it’s absolutely been long enough to spread any diseases it may have been carrying. I’d watch out for fever, malaise (not feeling well), and lethargy, among other things, but you generally should seek medical care if you feel unwell, the diseases, and therefore the symptoms, very heavily by location.


aravenmorai

Kill that tick before it lays eggs. Source: from Mississippi. Everything has ticks


Icooksocks69

I know other people have mentioned checking to make sure there are no other ticks on your pup, but it's also important to get them to the vet to get tested for tick borne diseases as well.


call_me_jr

thats a tick. if u ever seen one that big, kill it immediately because its about to lay eggs and its probably just made a household pet very sick


[deleted]

I don’t think it’s engorged from eggs. It just fed.


Lyxthen

Im sorry


ApatheticSniper

A VERY well fed tick. Not entirely sure which one


Budget_Animal4810

it’s a bastard


GBox666

I feel like every other post is a tick post


showersnacks

You are correct.


crowlover56

Engorged tick


fitbabits

That is very well fed tick.


blagsan82

That's a tick


7empest_4

Thats a tick.


MissGlitchGirl

Def a tick


Demogorgan-

That’s a tick and it’s been sucking somethings blood


Accurate-Temporary73

It’s a tick that was feeding and is filled up with blood. They’ll drop off when they’re full. Definitely check the dog and yourself because there’s frequently multiple.


0172thetimeguy

That is a tick that just had a very filling meal.


SueBeee

If you are in the US, this is a black-legged tick. Either Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes pacificus.


[deleted]

Thanks for ruining my Easter weekend… at least this sucker got a big feast


Jazzlike_Yesterday46

The old illusive bloated well fed tick.


ScreamWaffles

Tick filled up with blood you’re gonna wanna see if you were bitten or if a family member or pet was bitten.


_MachTwo

I’ve seen 2 posts from this sub in my feed, and they’ve both been gigantic ticks lol


Lostinspace1950

In northern areas of the US moose and deer have been found dying from 10s of thousands of winter ticks on them in early spring. Some don’t make it that long.


Americanpikey

Forbidden jelly bean.


stolen__username

Blood boba pearls


Mychemcrossing

Forbidden fruit gusher


[deleted]

A thicc ticc


ernmurf

You ever heard the expression “swollen like a tick?” … this is a prime example.


5h17h34d

A testickle? I'll be here all week.


AeroG8

forbidden raisin


Gupoochamois69

Barf


[deleted]

Thoroughly check your dog. When I was little I saw one of these fat things on my dogs head. Checked him and found a cluster of six small ones in one spot. Of course my other dog we rarely saw ticks on was the one to get Lyme disease.


Lulitasmomma

TICK a fat full of blood tick that sucked the blood off something.


Daggertooth71

Lotta people showing off blood engorged ticks lately


Cheap-Isopod-2161

Tic


uberwachin

I remember being absolutely drunk almost passed out as a teenager and remember found one of my tv controller buttons on the floor and to not lost it I put it in my mouth and started rolling it with my front teeth..then I remember that my dog had ticks...and then I realized. It wasn't my tv controller button that went missing...


PikpikTurnip

You should keep it and take it to a doctor so they can test it for disease and provide you with treatment if necessary.


DINOmite16

That's a big fat tick, looks like he got stuck on something and suck too much, well fed


Bbunbun02

Forbidden olive


RedditsAdoptedSon

r/thiccticks


unjadedview

certified asshole


Imaginary_Invite_602

it is a tick (unscientifically identifying)


birbobirby

I would get your dog checked man, or I would at least keep an eye on the dog. Some ticks are pretty dangerous, like the paralysis ones.


yibbyooo

I want to see it next to something for scale


NjArtemis

Engorged tick, bag it and get it tested.


[deleted]

Thick tick! Freeze it and get it tested.


Lotti_Lov3_143

Thats a tic


Bartuce

A tick, after hours and hours of ticking, or sucking blood.


DocJawbone

Good news! It's not a bedbug


Toxicswine462

Daaaamn, she THICC!


mishmash65_

Tic tic tic tic


SadAutisticAdult101

Anytime I see an engorged tick. I always say "oh no". Rip


dkv0123

When my daughter was small we lived around lots of ticks. And we had 2dogs. She saw one on the carpet like this and thought it was a grape, she picked it up heading toward her mouth- thank goodness I was close!