Those who work in the Christmas tree industry say that many of the complaints of ticks in Christmas trees have been from consumers who have mistaken aphids for ticks. It is important to correctly identify ticks they are easily overlooked because they are so small, and they are easily mistaken for other insects that can infest Christmas trees, including aphids . Ticks are not insects. Adult ticks have eight legs and two body segments. Adult insects have six legs and three body segments.
Ticks are arachnids, in the same family as chiggers, spiders and mites.
There are over 850 tick species, about 100 of which are capable of transmitting diseases. Multiple diseases can be contracted from a single tick bite. Ticks are bloodsucking external parasites that feed on humans, wild and domestic mammals, birds, reptiles and others. The longer an infective tick feeds, the greater the chance of infection. To see a picture of what a typical tick looks like click here .