hard tick

noun

: a tick of the family Ixodidae that has a hard outer shell and feeds on two or three hosts during its life cycle

Hard ticks, however, are mainly host parasites and will latch onto their hosts for up to five or six days.

—Edwards Park, Smithsonian, January 1987

Tick paralysis occurs when a hard tick releases nerve poison into the victim's bloodstream while feeding.

—Kevin Graman, Spokesman Review (Spokane, Washington), 6 July 2005

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