State of Rhode Island: Department of Health
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Ticks
Ticks eat the blood of mammals, like dogs, deer, and people. Ticks hang out on plants, like grasses and bushes, then grab on to animals as they walk through the plants. Like mosquitoes, ticks crawl on your skin, bite you, and suck out a little of your blood. Unlike mosquitoes, ticks will keep sucking your blood for days. If you see a tick after it has been eating, you will notice it gets very fat! The longer an infective tick feeds, the greater the chance of infection.
Ticks are carriers (vectors) for many diseases, most commonly Lyme disease.