Virginia, USA. The entire visual field here is about 3mm, so they are incredibly small. Note this one has been on the slide for a few days and has turned darker. I’m pretty sure this is a larval Amblyomma americanum, the lone star tick.
I picked out what I could and scrubbed with rubbing alcohol, then soap, but I still have dozens of itchy welts. It’s rare that they carry disease at this stage, but I got some doxycycline to be on the safe side. I had permethrin on my shoes and pants but not my gloves, so live and learn.
Yeah, that sucks. They’re the ones that (as adults) carry that red meat allergy thing, right?
Yep, alpha gal allergy. I hope that misses me. I don’t eat red meat but I might, I don’t know, take a capsule with a gelatin coating or something. Apparently it can be that severe.