In addition, longer grass or brush, low bushes and shrubs, and moist leaf litter are common habitats. Ticks crawl very slowly, and can travel distances only by attaching to a person, animal, or bird. This is how a tick can move out of the woods and into gardens and backyards. In the larva and nymph stages, ticks must find hosts and take blood meals to molt to the next stages. Male adults attach but do not feed, while female adults need blood to produce eggs.
Males are smaller and all black.
Ticks are not born with the spirochete responsible for Lyme disease. Instead, larvae pick it up from infected rodents, most often the white-footed mouse, and are then capable of transmitting the disease after molting and feeding as nymphs or adults. Ticks are found in wooded areas, suburban backyards and tall grassy areas. Ticks don't fly, jump or spring from trees. They are found in leafy brush waiting for a person or animal to pass by.