Be On The Lookout, A New Type Of Tick Has Been Spotted In South Carolina
By AnneMarie|Published March 08, 2023
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AnneMarie
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South Carolina has been home for AnneMarie since 2001. Her favorite part of the state is Lake Jocassee. An App State alumna, it's always the mountains; the lake bonus makes it heavenly. When not writing about the state, she may be spending time with family, relaxing by the pool, or out somewhere enjoying nature.
When it comes to pests, it seems that palmetto bugs (aka, cockroaches) and mosquitoes hog most of the air time in South Carolina. Yet, we obviously have our fair share of plenty of other pests, and unfortunately, it’s time for a conversation about one of those. Because a new type of tick has made its way to the United States, first spotted in 2017, and since then leading people to wonder: is the Asian longhorned tick in South Carolina and do I need to be concerned about this pest, too?
Of the five most common ticks found in South Carolina, the Lonestar tick is the one most collected.
The newer type of tick in South Carolina is the Asian Longhorned tick, which made its way from Asia into the United States, first discovered in 2010 in West Virginia on a white-tailed deer. They are light brown and tiny creatures.
According to Dr. Melissa Nolan, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology in the Arnold School of Public Health and Director for the University of South Carolina Laboratory of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, “The concern, really, is that this tick could overwhelm livestock, or dogs, or people. So you could be out walking in the field with your dog, and you could get hundreds of ticks."
Pictured here is a pregnant, engorged female Asian Longhorned tick. This species can reproduce at an abnormally high rate, because it does not need a male for reproduction. A single female Asian Longhorned tick can produce 1,000 to 2,000 eggs at a time without mating.
A $585,000 grant was awarded to Dr. Nolan by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to enable a South Carolina tick surveillance program to expand its efforts. The public is asked to carefully submit ticks suspected to be Asian Longhorned ticks for confirmatory identification.
To participate, carefully collect a tick by using gloved hands, tweezers, or another tool and send collected ticks, alive or dead, in a puncture-resistant sealable vial or zippered storage bag to the following address:
Laboratory of Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases 921 Assembly Street #417A Columbia, SC 29201.
Please include your name and phone number, the address of where the tick was collected (if not a street address, provide directions and distances from nearby road intersections), the date of collection, and indicate if the tick was found on a human or animal (specify the type of animal).
By sending in ticks collected from yourself, your pets, and your livestock, a better understanding of tick species and their pathogens distribution can be gained. This information is expected to be used to develop more effective vector control and veterinary health responses.
Have you spotted an Asian Longhorn tick in South Carolina? Where did you see it? Did you know that you could collect ticks when you come across them to send in to help with efforts to improve how we deal with these nasty pests? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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