The Asian longhorned tick can reproduce rapidly and poses a significant threat to cattle herds. Teresa Steckler, a beef cattle educator with the University of Illinois Extension Service, says the tick can create significant problems quickly.

“Yes, that tick would be the Asian longhorned tick. However, the problem with this tick is it is parthenogenic, which means that it can reproduce without a male, so that a single tick can turn into thousands in a short period of time. You can have so many ticks on a cow or heifer or whatever, that can cause exsanguination, or there could be so many bites that an allergic reaction can be caused in these animals as well.”

If the tick is found in your area, it’s very important to check animals coming into and exiting from your herd.

“We want people to be aware that if they’re bringing any cattle in that the tick has been found in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, northern Arkansas, and a lot of states in the southeast and the east. If you’re bringing any in, like backgrounders, or buying bulls, cows, whatever, please quarantine those animals, pour them, and do a very vigilant check that they do not have any of these ticks. They’re going to be small. You have to be very careful when you go to check them but be proactive.”

She talks about what farmers will see when they look for these ticks.

“They are very small. They’re about the size of a poppy seed, but if cattle have any large numbers, there will be clusters of them. And, of course, as the ticks engorged themselves, they’ll get much bigger. Typically, we see them around the udder or the brisket area, the ears, or anywhere there could be folds of skin, the ticks like to get down in those areas.” 

If a producer does find this tick getting into a herd, it’s important to contact your local extension service and then isolate the animals from the rest of the herd.

“It’ll be a little bit, but yes, if we do find them, you do need to isolate those animals, and we need to pour those animals and we need to work with your local herd veterinarian. We also need to work with the Department of Ag, so we can hopefully get the tick under control as best as we can on your farm.”

The Asian longhorn tick has been found in multiple states includeing South Carolina and North Carolina in addition to Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas, and up the eastern seaboard.