"New" Ticks in Jerseyland... Oh Joy

Heard about this yesterday. 

Last summer, a farmer walked into the Hunterdon County health office covered in thousands of the ticks after she was shearing a 12-year-old Icelandic sheep named Hannah. Experts were called in to identify the tick which was not previously known to exist in the United States. The Department of Agriculture says it still does not know how the tick made its way to New Jersey.

The sheep has never traveled internationally and has rarely left Hunterdon County, according to Andrea Egizi, a tick specialist at the Monmouth County Tick-borne Disease Lab.

The ticks are known to swarm and infest deer and animals other than sheep, so the department is warning that it has the potential to infect other North American wildlife species. The ticks reproduce asexually by cloning themselves and just one of them is capable of laying thousands of eggs.

The nymphs of the ticks are very small, resemble small spiders and are easy to miss, according to the Department of Agriculture. They are dark brown, about the size of a pea when full grown and can be found in tall grasses.

Authorities are asking people to contact the state veterinarian at 609-671-6400 if they see any unusual ticks on their livestock.

Unusual ticks detected in wildlife should be reported to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, Bureau of Wildlife Management at 609-984-6295 or the Office of Fish and Wildlife Health and Forensics at 908-637-4173, ext. 120.

Any questions about tick-borne illness in humans should be directed to local health departments or the New Jersey Department of Health at 609-826-596

https://articles.nj.com/hunterdon/index.ssf/2018/04/a_swarming_exotic_ti...

The ticks have been real bad on the Humboldt coast this year.  I have pulled over 100 this year off me and the dogs

>>>The sheep has never traveled internationally

Lies I tell ya.  Fake news.  I want to see the sheep's birth certificate.    

Down in Monterey County (CA), I experienced some very aggressive ticks a couple of weeks ago.  They started biting within minutes of my hike.  As a kid, I remember them taking a bit longer, like hours, before they dug into me.  Fortunately, no signs of Lyme's Disease for me or the kid.

The scariest tick experience I ever had was during twilight at Manassas Battlefield in Virginia.  Countless teeny ones running roughshod over every inch us.  Easties, you are in my thoughts and prayers...

Swarming ticks doesn't sound particularly good.

I live in hunderton county. So far I’m tick free.

Hoping that our last long blast of winter, after a short warmth, will cut down on the # of ticks this year.   We live in the woods and there's never any doubt that we'll have our share. 

....

I could do without ticks or the long winter. Hasn’t been great for painters.

Nerts.  Just keep them fuckas in Jersey.  PA is already lyme central.   I guess its already a lost cause.  Can I just take my dogs Next Guard?  good luck with beasties fellow easties..

(note to self: stay away from Manassas Battlefield)