How long can a tick be attached?

They have found that ticks do feed, but they’ll often fall off, they’ll get scratched off, sometimes they detach themselves. They may detach before they get a chance to become completely engorged. One study even showed that ticks can bite a second time. And so it’s important not to count on seeing a tick attached [a tick bite]. In fact, very few people actually see a tick, or at least not enough people see a tick. So, we don’t rely just on looking for a tick when it comes to preventing Lyme disease or considering it as a possible diagnosis.