How much blood does one tick drink from a human? - briefly
A single feeding tick usually removes about 0.5–1 ml of human blood. The exact volume depends on the tick’s species, developmental stage, and length of attachment.
How much blood does one tick drink from a human? - in detail
A single adult female tick that attaches to a person typically extracts between 0.2 µL and 0.5 µL of blood per day of feeding. Over a full engorgement period of 5–7 days, total intake ranges from 1 µL to 5 µL, depending on species and environmental conditions. Males ingest far less, often less than 0.1 µL in total, because they feed only briefly to sustain activity.
- Ixodes scapularis (black‑legged tick) – adult females consume ≈ 1.5 µL after 5 days; males < 0.05 µL.
- Dermacentor variabilis (American dog tick) – females take ≈ 2 µL after 6 days; males ≈ 0.1 µL.
- Amblyomma americanum (lone star tick) – females can reach 3 µL after 7 days; males remain under 0.1 µL.
Key determinants of the volume taken are:
- Life stage – larvae and nymphs are considerably smaller; larvae ingest 0.01‑0.03 µL, nymphs 0.05‑0.2 µL.
- Feeding duration – blood uptake proceeds at a rate of 0.3‑0.5 µL per day for engorged females; shorter attachment yields proportionally less.
- Host skin thickness and blood pressure – thinner skin and higher capillary pressure facilitate faster ingestion.
- Ambient temperature and humidity – higher temperatures accelerate metabolism, increasing daily intake by up to 20 %.
The cumulative volume removed by a single tick is negligible relative to the host’s total blood volume (≈ 5 L in an adult human). Nevertheless, the pathogen load transferred during this minute volume can be clinically significant.