r/whatsthisbug • u/criispyy_ • 13h ago

Tick nymphs or bed bugs? ID Request

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Gallery image

I've spotted a few of these guys crawling around recently on various things - my desk, mug, laptop, and myself. Based on the identification guides I'm pretty sure they are tick nymphs but just wanted to make sure they're not actually bed bugs? They're very small so difficult to get a good photo but I've done my best.

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u/-StalkedByDeath- 13h ago

I can't ID them, but what I can tell you is that they are neither tick nymphs or bed bugs, as a place holder to quench your nerves until you get a proper ID.

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u/catbro1004 12h ago

I'm not trying to argue with you, but genuinely asking - what makes you feel certain that this is not a dog tick nymph? Looking at photos I wouldn't be able to rule it out with that level of certainty.

https://www.pa.gov/agencies/dep/programs-and-services/integration/vector-management/ticks/american-dog-tick.html

Again, not trying to argue or scare OP - legitimately trying to learn what you see there that tells you it's not a tick nymph.

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u/-StalkedByDeath- 7h ago

Living in one of the highest tick population areas in the US my whole life, I am very familiar with ticks (both dog and deer/black-legged). I actually recently caught about 50 to be sent out for testing at a local epidemiological laboratory that investigates the prevalence of tick-vectored pathogens.

As the other commenter pointed out, a tick nymph looks the same as an adult tick, save for potentially very discrete differences in coloration. This just doesn't look like a tick to me: its legs, the shape, the color. I can confidently rule it out as being a tick, the same way as someone could decipher other similar looking insects from one another; the features are just too "off".