Ticks can be very small. The smallest stage, the larva (newly hatched tick), can be smaller than a poppy seed, approximately 0.5 mm. Nymph ticks are about the size of a pinhead or poppy seed, around 1.5 mm. Adult ticks vary by sex: males are roughly 2.5 mm while unfed adult females are about 3 mm long, but females can swell up to around 10-11 mm after feeding. Overall, ticks range from about 0.5 mm in their smallest larval form to over 10 mm when fully engorged as adult females.
In sum, ticks can be as small as 0.5 mm in the larval stage, making them extremely tiny and sometimes difficult to see with the naked eye.
