Little is known about squirrel ticks but, as their name suggests, they feed primarily on tree squirrels and, to a lesser extent, on snowshoe hares. They also feed on animals that prey on squirrels. The many records from the Maritimes through to Ontario suggest these ticks are well established in much of Eastern Canada.

The Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) is not native to Canada but it has started to cause concerns in this country.

Western blacklegged ticks (Ixodes pacificus) were first identified in 1904 and haven't been intensively studied in Canada, so a lot of the information we have is the product of research efforts that have been undertaken in the western US and occasional initiatives in this country.

Although not the most ubiquitous tick species in this country, the blacklegged tick is easily the best known of all Canada's ticks thanks to its role as the primary vector of Lyme disease in Canada east of the Rocky Mountains.

Blacklegged ticks are three-host generalist feeders, meaning that over the course of their journey from egg to larvae to nymph to adult, these ticks must dine on three host vertebrates in order to acquire the blood they need to fuel their transition from one stage to the next.