As Asian Longhorned Ticks Spread, Prevention Becomes Key for Farmers and Residents

Asian longhorned ticks are spreading through the Hudson Valley and pose a growing threat to livestock, particularly because they reproduce rapidly and can transmit a serious cattle disease.

At Cornell Cooperative Extension in Albany County last recently, Joellen Marie Lampman presented “Tick (S)tock,” a talk about the growing risk ticks pose to livestock. Lampman works with Cornell Integrated Pest Management, where she educates different groups about preventive care when it comes to ticks. The event focused on how different types of ticks can affect animals and humans, and how people can best protect themselves from tick bites. In the Hudson Valley, Lampman said the expanding population of Asian longhorned ticks is becoming increasingly concerning.

According to Lampman, the first sighting of this particular tick in New York dates to 2010. A classification error complicated the record, and researchers later determined there had been a mix-up between a rabbit tick and an Asian longhorned tick.

“Part of the reason that we didn’t discover it for so long was that it looks almost identical to our native rabbit tick,” Lampman said. “So when we went back into our collections, we’re like, ‘Oh, that’s not a rabbit tick.’”

That resemblance does not diminish the fact that these ticks can pack a dangerous bite. Heavy infestations can negatively affect an animal’s health and productivity. Theileria orientalis ikeda is one of the livestock impacts. It can make livestock anemic, destroy red blood cells and leave animals lethargic.

For humans, these ticks can transmit ehrlichiosis. That can cause flu-like symptoms one to two weeks after the bite occurs. While mild symptoms are not usually deadly, treatment is still necessary.

“There’s two ways that we know Theileria can be spread, one is by reusing needles, so please don’t do that ’cause this is gonna be spreading throughout New York relatively quickly, and through this Asian longhorned tick,” Lampman said.

There is still research to be done on how this particular tick will affect livestock long term.

One of the main concerns with this tick, compared with the five other ticks prominent across the state, is that it is extremely invasive. Farmers have already reported high numbers of ticks on a single cow on their farms.

Lampman emphasized during the meeting that these ticks can reproduce without a mate. That means one female tick alone can clone herself and lay 2,000 eggs, all of them also female.

There are currently high numbers of Asian longhorned ticks in other parts of the state, but Lampman said those numbers will likely increase rapidly once this summer passes.

“You can see that it goes all the way up to Glens Falls,” Lampman said. “So we’ve got the habitat that they are on on Long Island that goes all the way up the Hudson River.”

One of the other unique elements of these ticks is that they are not picky eaters. Asian longhorned ticks can choose a wide range of hosts, including livestock and wildlife that is constantly moving, such as birds and deer.

They are native to East Asia and are now considered invasive in the U.S. The first traced sign of them was in 2017, even though research has shown earlier sightings through Cornell Cooperative Extension.

While these ticks prefer pastures and meadows, they have also been seen on the outskirts of a grazed farm, which Lampman said was shocking.

To protect livestock, it is important to check animals for ticks daily. It is also important to ensure that livestock being shipped to a particular farm is properly treated for ticks before it arrives at the final farm in New York.

Lampman is continuing to monitor the population by going to sites with infestations to conduct research and better understand how the population is expanding outside the coastal lands where it was once originally abundant in Long Island.

One of the main testing methods is using a tick rag.

“So we’re using that hunting style against them, we’re also not treated, we’re not wearing repellents as we’re going out there,” Lampman said. “We are using ourselves as bait to capture as many ticks as we possibly can.”

This method of researchers using themselves as bait allows for a tick rag to work. It is a long white rag attached to a brown horizontal rod. They go into an infested area and walk through with the rag, collecting ticks.

“Then we, then we bring this all back to the lab, and we throw these things underneath the microscope so that we can figure out exactly what kind we’re dealing with.”

One management method that was discussed was burning farms after the season, but no solution has proven to be permanent. Lampman made clear during the meeting that even treating lawns is only a temporary fix.

Even with Asian longhorned ticks, they are going to different areas and dropping off quickly. If grass is treated for ticks, it can only last until another tick is dropped off by a bird or a deer.

Humans can continue taking preventive measures to avoid getting bitten by Asian longhorned ticks, especially since it is still being researched how the ticks will actually affect humans.

That includes wearing permethrin-treated clothing with long sleeves, long socks and pants tucked into boots. While that is not ideal in the middle of the summer heat, it is important in grassland areas to gear up to avoid bites.

For more information about different species of ticks in New York State and the different impacts they can have, visit Cornell’s Integrated Pest Management page on the Asian longhorned tick.