Michigan is home to five common tick species, with a sixth recently detected for the first time in 2025. The blacklegged tick (also called the deer tick) and the American dog tick are the two you’re most likely to encounter, but the lone star tick is expanding into the state’s southern counties and bringing new health concerns with it. Here’s what to know about each species, where they live, and which ones pose the biggest risk.
American Dog Tick
The American dog tick is the most commonly encountered tick in Michigan and can be found throughout the entire state. Adults are active from April through August, with peak submissions to state surveillance programs happening during that window. You’ll find them in grassy areas and along forest edges, exactly the kind of terrain people walk through on trails, in parks, and around campsites.
Despite being so common, American dog ticks very rarely transmit disease in Michigan. They can carry the bacterium that causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever, but locally acquired cases are rare in the state. If you find a tick on yourself after spending time outdoors in spring or summer, there’s a good chance it’s this species. Adults are relatively large, reddish-brown, and have a distinctive white or cream-colored pattern on their backs.
Blacklegged Tick (Deer Tick)
The blacklegged tick is the most medically significant tick in Michigan. It transmits the bacteria and parasites responsible for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis. Before 2002, established populations were only confirmed in Menominee County in the Upper Peninsula. Since then, the species has invaded southwestern Michigan and continued expanding its range across the state over the past 30 years.
That expansion tracks closely with a surge in Lyme disease. Michigan recorded 1,215 Lyme disease cases in 2024, a 168% increase from the 452 cases reported in 2020. Both the bacteria causing Lyme disease and the pathogen behind anaplasmosis have been found in blacklegged tick populations in both the Upper Peninsula and southwestern Michigan.
Blacklegged ticks are smaller and darker than American dog ticks, with a solid dark brown or black shield on their backs. Unlike the American dog tick’s spring-and-summer schedule, blacklegged ticks have a more complex activity pattern. Nymphs (the immature stage most likely to bite people unnoticed) are active in late spring and summer, while adults are active in fall and even into early winter when temperatures stay above freezing. They’re most common in forested areas.
Lone Star Tick
The lone star tick is an aggressive biter that has been pushing northward into Michigan. In 2019, researchers detected the first evidence of an established population in Berrien County in the state’s southwestern corner. By 2020, individual lone star ticks were found at seven sites across five southern counties: Berrien, Branch, Cass, Ingham, and Huron. Statewide surveillance in 2021 found no lone star ticks outside Berrien County, but the population there remained established, with 691 ticks of all three life stages collected at one site alone.
This species is particularly concerning because its bites have been linked to alpha-gal syndrome, a condition that triggers allergic reactions to red meat. In severe cases, it can cause anaphylaxis. At least one Michigan resident with no travel history outside the state has been treated in an emergency room for severe anaphylaxis tied to this condition. Lone star ticks also transmit the pathogen behind ehrlichiosis and are associated with a condition called Southern tick-associated rash illness. You can identify an adult female by the single white dot in the center of her back.
Woodchuck Tick
The woodchuck tick is a close relative of the blacklegged tick but lives in a very different habitat. Rather than questing on vegetation for passing hosts, it stays in or near the dens of groundhogs and skunks. You’re unlikely to encounter this tick on a hike, but it can bite people who disturb a burrow or spend time near areas where these animals live. The woodchuck tick can transmit Powassan virus, a rare but serious infection that can cause inflammation of the brain. Encounters with this species are far less common than with dog ticks or blacklegged ticks.
Brown Dog Tick
The brown dog tick stands out from every other species on this list because it can live and reproduce indoors. It’s closely associated with human homes and kennels, often found on door frames, window frames, and in cracks near where dogs rest. It feeds almost exclusively on dogs rather than people, and it can remain active year-round inside heated buildings. While brown dog ticks can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever in some parts of the country, they are primarily a pest of dogs in Michigan rather than a significant human health threat.
Asian Longhorned Tick
In June 2025, Michigan confirmed its first detection of the Asian longhorned tick. Two immature ticks were found during routine surveillance at Grand Mere State Park in Berrien County and confirmed by the USDA’s National Veterinary Services Laboratories on June 11, 2025. This species is unusual because it can reproduce without mating, which means a single female can start a new population. It’s primarily a pest of livestock, especially cattle, and is active from June through August. Researchers are continuing surveillance in the region to determine how widely the species has spread and what risk it poses to Michigan’s agricultural operations.
When Each Species Is Active
Tick season in Michigan isn’t a single window. American dog ticks are most active April through August. Blacklegged tick nymphs peak in late spring and summer, while adults become active in the fall and can remain so into early winter. Lone star ticks follow a similar warm-weather pattern to dog ticks in the areas where they’ve established. The brown dog tick ignores seasons entirely when living indoors. Asian longhorned ticks are active June through August.
The practical takeaway: if you spend time outdoors in Michigan between April and November, tick checks should be routine. In mild winters, blacklegged ticks can still be active when temperatures are above freezing.
Protecting Yourself
Michigan’s health department recommends using repellent with at least 20% DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin. Treating clothing and gear with permethrin adds another layer of protection. After spending time in grassy or wooded areas, check your entire body carefully. Blacklegged nymphs are roughly the size of a poppy seed and easy to miss.
If you find an attached tick, grasp it with fine-tipped tweezers right at the skin’s surface and pull straight up without twisting. Clean the bite area with rubbing alcohol or soap and water. A small bump or redness that fades within a day or two is a normal reaction, similar to a mosquito bite, and not a sign of Lyme disease. Don’t use heat, nail polish, or petroleum jelly to try to coax the tick off.
A circular rash that expands over days, fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, or joint pain in the weeks following a tick bite are all reasons to seek medical attention. Lyme disease often produces a distinctive expanding rash, but not always. Anaplasmosis and babesiosis typically cause fever, fatigue, and body aches without a rash.