American Dog Ticks are brown to reddish brown with black to beige highlights. The adult males average at 3.6 mm in length while the females are slightly larger at 4.5-5mm. When fed, female ticks can increase to about three times their size at 15mm in length.

They are found most often east of the Rocky Mountains, generally in the central part of the United States, but they can be encountered in the Washington and Oregon and have been found as far north as Canada and as far south as Mexico.

These ticks can lay dormant in the soil during the cold winter months, but as the weather warms, they become more active. The American Dog Tick goes through several feeding stages, graduating to larger animals in each stage. Their peak feeding season stretches from mid-April to early September. In search of food, these ticks are drawn to the scent of dogs and they will commonly lay in wait in well-traveled trails where it is easiest for mammals to traverse.