REGION — One female can produce thousands of offspring without the help of a male. It hails from East and Central Asia. Some of its kin moved to New Jersey in 2017. 

And now it’s in the Upper Delaware. 

The Asian longhorned (AL) tick “is now an invasive pest,” according to a post on the Penn State Extension (PSE) website. 

What is it?

The AL tick is light brown in color, reports the USDA, and while young ticks are as small as a sesame seed, adult females can grow to the size of a pea when they’re full of blood. 

Male ticks are rare. 

The ticks prefer meadows and pastures, and have been found on sheep, goats, dogs, cats, horses, cattle, chickens, black bears, foxes (red and grey), groundhogs, striped skunks, white-tailed deer, opossums, raccoons, Canada geese, barred owls, brown boobies, Peromyscus mice, red-tailed hawks—and occasionally people.  

A serious problem for livestock

The AL tick has been confirmed to transmit bovine theileriosis and Babesia spp., PSE said. “Bovine theileriosis can reduce dairy production on cattle farms and occasionally kill calves.” 

High numbers of ticks on a single animal can cause anemia, or even kill the animal due to blood loss, according to the USDA.

Your local cooperative extension will have information about the best way to reduce the risk of AL ticks for your livestock.

They don’t spread Lyme

Research is ongoing, but the AL tick seems to be less interested in human skin, compared with other types of ticks.

“One recent experimental study found that this tick is not likely to contribute to the spread of Lyme disease bacteria in the United States,” the CDC said. 

No AL ticks have been found to carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, either. 

In their native range in Asia, they have been confirmed to carry diseases that affect humans.

The good news is that there are steps you can take against AL ticks. The CDC recommends using EPA-approved insect repellents and 0.5 percent permethrin-treated clothing.

If you think you’ve found one

Remove ticks from people and animals as quickly as possible.

Save the ticks in rubbing alcohol in a jar or a reclosable plastic bag.

Then contact your health department.

Contact a veterinarian for information about how to protect pets from ticks and tick bites.

Contact your state agriculture department or local agricultural extension office about ticks on livestock or for tick identification.