Tick Identification & Info

The District can identify resident-submitted ticks but DOES NOT perform disease testing on resident-submitted ticks.

Learn more about why CDC does not recommend testing individual ticks as part of tick-borne disease prevention risk. Learn more about what to do after a tick bite.

If you want a tick tested, check with the San Mateo County Public Health Laboratory to see if they are currently offering tick testing.

The District laboratory conducts surveillance for tick-borne pathogens at parks and open spaces throughout San Mateo County. These results are available on the Tick Surveillance page.

Three ticks, two adult ticks are light brown and dark brown with 8 legs each. A third immature tick is much smaller (only the size of the head of an adult tick) and light brown/yellow colored.

Tick Identification

If you've found a tick on yourself or your pet and want to have it identified, you can submit a service request or stop by our office (Mon-Fri, 8-4:30) to arrange for the tick identification.

Graphic that includes photos of 6 different ticks - males and females of three different species. Text lists the names of each of the species: Western blacklegged tick (Ixodes pacificus), Pacific Coast tick (Dermacentor occidentalis), American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

Common Ticks of San Mateo County

Although there are 21 species of hard ticks in San Mateo County, the list below are the most common ticks that people and pets contact in the environment.

Tick Biology

There are about 50 different species of ticks in California, but only a few species transmit diseases to humans in California.

TICK DIVERSITY ON WILD RODENTS

To some people ticks may all look the same, but for Vector Ecologists at the San Mateo County Mosquito and Vector Control District, knowing the small differences among species can help us learn things such as the potential for disease transmission and distribution. San Mateo County is home to a variety of tick species, many of which residents are unlikely to encounter because of their highly…

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