An invasive pest posing a significant threat to U.S. cattle herds is making its way across the eastern portion of the country.
The Asian longhorned tick has now been spotted in Illinois.
According to University of Illinois Extension Beef Cattle Educator Teresa Steckler, “It has been located in one county so far. However, the problem with this tick is it is parthenogenic, which means that it can reproduce without a male. So a single tick can turn into thousands in a short period of time. You can have so many ticks on a cow of heiffer 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.”
She tells farmers what to keep an eye out for when looking for these invasive pests.
“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’re going to have to be very careful when you go to check them, but be proactive. 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 buch bigger. And typically, we see them around the udder, the brisket area, the ears, anywhere there could be folds of skin. The ticks like to get down in those areas.
Asian longhorned ticks have been spotted in nineteen states.
