Most complete their lives in two to three years, but some live for more than 20 years. Ticks like temperatures that are consistently above 40 degrees Fahrenheit . In warmer regions, there is a risk year round. At each stage, it must find and attach to a host, take a blood meal, and then drop off to the ground. Digesting the meal, it then will molt and grow to the next stage.
Ticks tend to be host specific.
Ticks seek a blood meal from specific hosts. Although abundant in southern and south west regions of the United States, it is not evenly distributed in the Northeast and northwest. This specie of tick has also been implicated in the transmission of several diseases, including Lyme Borreliosis, and Ehrlichiosis. It also may be spreading Leptospirosis. Unfortunately no studies are underway at the time of this writing.