What is the life cycle of a tick?

Tick life cycle

Click on each stage below to find out how a tick develops. You can click here for a video of the life cycle of a tick!

• Stage 1: the egg

  Every tick starts life as an egg. A female tick can lay thousands of eggs at once—seriously, we’re talking up to 5,000 in one go. She usually drops them in leaf litter or on the ground, somewhere nice and hidden where they can hatch safely. You won’t see these eggs unless you’re getting up close and personal with the ground, and honestly, that’s probably for the best. After a few weeks, the eggs hatch into something even smaller…

• Stage 2: the larvae

  When tick eggs hatch, out pop the larvae—tiny, six-legged versions of their adult selves. These are sometimes called "seed ticks", and they’re absolutely minuscule, about the size of a grain of sand. At this stage, they haven’t had a blood meal yet, but they’ll need one soon if they want to grow.

  Tick larvae will be in different parts of the UK, typically climb up grass blades or low vegetation and wait patiently for a passing host, like your pet. Once they’ve had their fill of blood, they drop and rest up.

• Stage 3: the nymph

  Next up: the nymph stage. After shedding their skin (a process known as moulting), tick larvae grow into nymphs. This is where things get a bit more serious. Nymphs have eight legs—just like adult ticks—and they’re a little bigger, though still small enough to be easily missed on skin or fur.

  Now here’s the kicker: nymphs are responsible for the majority of tick-borne diseases in humans. Why? Because they’re active, hungry, and tiny enough to go unnoticed while they feed. Lyme disease, for example, is most commonly transmitted at this stage.

  Nymphs will seek out another host, take another blood meal, and then drop off again to moult once more.

• Stage 4: the adult

  Finally, we get to the adult tick. These are the ones most people are familiar with—about the size of an apple seed when unfed, and much larger (gulp!) when they’ve had a good feed.

  Adult ticks go on the hunt for dogs, cats or unfortunately, humans. Males and females both feed, though females need a big meal before they can lay eggs. Once she’s fed, the female drops off the host and finds a nice quiet spot to lay her thousands of eggs… and the cycle starts all over again.

  Tick fact! Male ticks often die shortly after mating, while females die after laying their eggs. It’s a short, intense life, really.