Ixodes scapularis, over the course of its two to three-year life, goes through four life stages. At each stage it must drink a blood meal to transition to the next, though it can go many months between feeds. Ticks attach to their hosts through a behaviour known as ‘questing’. They perch themselves on the tips of tall grasses and patiently wait. Well known as vectors of serious illnesses, most notably Lyme disease, fear of these almost microscopic creatures keeps people the world over inside shops and houses on beautiful spring days.