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.

Squirrel ticks are most often encountered in nests of their hosts and in abandoned buildings or seasonal cottages that have been invaded by squirrels. Although there are quite a few records of these ticks biting cats and dogs, they rarely bite people. Unless you have some reason to come into close contact with squirrels or their nests, there is a good chance you can avoid an encounter with these ticks.

There is some question about whether squirrel ticks transmit disease to humans. Back in the early 1960s, Powassan virus was isolated from a squirrel tick plucked from a squirrel that had been captured on the property where a child had been infected with the virus and subsequently died. However, a direct connection between squirrel tick bites and human infection in Canada hasn't been made and other species of ticks are known to carry Powassan virus so it's possible that squirrel ticks are involved in the maintenance cycle of Powassan virus in nature, but don't actually transmit the virus to humans.

In any case, it's probably a good idea to avoid getting bitten by one.

Photo courtesy of the Tick Lab at the University of Maine.