Gulf Coast Tick

What it does

Gulf Coast ticks quest from the tips of tall grasses in open, sunny prairies and pastures, grabbing hosts that brush past. Adults favor large animals and often attach to the ears, where heavy feeding on cattle can cause wounds and deformity known as 'gotch ear.' They bite people readily when present.

Where it lives

They thrive in coastal uplands, prairies, grassy meadows, and pasture edges rather than deep forest, historically along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts. Their range has expanded well inland and northward in recent decades. Larvae and nymphs use small mammals and ground birds, while adults seek deer, livestock, dogs, and humans.

How it breeds

Like other hard ticks, the female feeds to full engorgement, drops off, lays a large single egg mass of several thousand eggs, and dies. The three-host cycle (larva, nymph, adult) generally spans about a year, with each stage requiring one blood meal and long periods of waiting between hosts.

What it eats

Gulf Coast ticks feed exclusively on blood. Immature stages take meals from birds and small mammals; adults feed on deer, cattle, horses, dogs, and people, anchoring with long mouthparts that make them harder to remove cleanly.

Identification

Adults are brown with striking silvery-white ornate markings across the scutum (shield), and have relatively long mouthparts. They resemble the American dog tick but the markings are more extensive and the mouthparts longer. Unfed adults are 4-6 mm; engorged females swell to well over a centimeter and turn grayish.

Signs of an infestation

• A tick attached in the hairline, ears, or skin folds after time outdoors
• Ticks found on the ears of cattle, horses, or dogs
• A dark scab (eschar) forming at a bite site
• Fever, headache, or rash days after a known bite
• Ticks questing on grass tips in open pasture or coastal fields

Prevention tips

• Use EPA-registered repellent and wear long pants tucked into socks in tall grass
• Treat clothing with permethrin before working in pastures or coastal fields
• Check yourself, children, and pets for ticks after being outdoors
• Mow tall grass and clear brushy field edges near the home
• Keep livestock and pets on veterinarian-approved tick control

Professional solutions

For homes and farms bordering grassland, professionals reduce tick pressure with acaricide treatment of transitional zones and vegetation management, plus livestock treatment programs. Because adults favor open grassy habitat, controlling the pasture-lawn edge matters most. Remove any attached tick promptly with fine tweezers rather than waiting.