The disease can be fatal if medication is not administered properly. The organisms that cause Rocky Mountain spotted fever are retained by ticks even as they grow and develop. They can even be transmitted to the next generation of ticks by the female through the egg. The feeding activity of the lone star tick often causes extreme nuisance. Presumably the salivary toxins cause a neuromuscular block.
Recovery is complete if the attached tick is removed before respiratory paralysis occurs.
A severe infestation of brown dog ticks on pets may cause anemia. The lone star, brown and American dog ticks have similar life cycles. Adults of both sexes feed and mate on the host. A male may mate with several females before dying. After fertilization, a female drops off the host, deposits 3,000 to 5,000 eggs over a 3-week period and then dies.