No, the tick has developed a more sinister method of attack - waiting. Waiting, waiting and more waiting. Just how long a wait the average tick must endure is unknown, but some ticks have been kept in captivity under starvation conditions for over three years with no apparent ill effects. No wonder they appear so anxious when you see one running up your leg or across your shirt. Fasting and feasting describe the life of a tick.
Ticks feed, of course, on the blood and tissue fluids of their host.
Some species are very picky about who provides a meal, preferring small rodents, certain species of birds, or even amphibians and reptiles. Others are legs selective and whoever wanders by, even a human, is a likely target. What ticks do in the meantime is anyone's guess, but they can endure a lot. Missouri is known for periods of extreme drought. These periods of dryness seem to have little affect on them.