What does a tick in a pillow look like? - briefly
A tick concealed in a pillow looks like a tiny, oval, dark‑brown or reddish parasite roughly the size of a grain of rice, often flattened and difficult to see against the fabric. It may appear as a small speck or faint movement when the pillow is disturbed.
What does a tick in a pillow look like? - in detail
A tick discovered inside a pillow is a small, oval arachnid whose appearance changes with its feeding status and developmental stage.
The unfed (questing) adult measures 3–5 mm in length, expands to about 8 mm when engorged. Its body is dorsoventrally flattened, allowing it to slip between pillow fibers. The dorsal surface is brown to reddish‑brown, often mottled with darker spots. Legs are eight, short, and visible as tiny, pale appendages extending from the anterior margin. The mouthparts, or capitulum, protrude forward and appear as a small, dark, beak‑like structure.
Engorged specimens are markedly larger, up to 10 mm in diameter, and take on a bloated, spherical shape. The cuticle becomes stretched and translucent, revealing a pale, almost ivory interior. Color may shift toward a lighter tan or gray as the blood meal expands the body.
Larval ticks (seed ticks) are considerably smaller, about 0.5 mm long, with only six legs. They appear as tiny, dark specks that are difficult to see without magnification. Nymphs possess eight legs and range from 1–2 mm, resembling miniature versions of the adult but with less pronounced coloration.
Typical visual cues in a pillow:
- Size: 0.5 mm (larva) to 10 mm (engorged adult)
- Shape: Flattened oval when unfed; spherical when engorged
- Color: Brown to reddish‑brown; lighter, translucent when full of blood
- Legs: Eight in adults and nymphs, six in larvae; short, pale
- Capitulum: Dark, beak‑like projection at the front
These characteristics enable identification of a tick within bedding material.