Top Animals Carrying Ticks

by Jennifer Smith April 26, 2019

Any warm-blooded mammal can get a tick bite and be struck with Lyme Disease; but some animals are more fortunate to avoid tick infections than others. While the white-footed mouse is known to carry the bacterium that causes Lyme Disease, they are not the only rodent, nor critter, to be infested by ticks.

Here are the top animals that carry ticks in North America:

White-tailed deer
Dogs
Horses
Cattle
Raccoons
Gray squirrels and chipmunks

Which animals rid ticks?

Some animals, including opossums and backyard chickens, eat ticks and can be used to control the spread of ticks in yards!

As a preventative measure to avoid tick diseases, it's best to separate wild and domestic animals with fencing and to check pets and children for ticks on the body after outdoor activities.