Asian Longhorned Tick Spreading Across Ohio

New York Post, 11.3.2023, published “Tiny, cattle-killing ticks spread across Ohio: ‘No getting rid of them.’” The article, which includes a video, covers a recent study from Ohio State University warning of the danger of Asian longhorned ticks (Acari: Ixodidae: Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann).

Senior author of the study and OSU professor Risa Pesapane was interviewed for the piece. Pesapane provided details regarding an enormous, 5-year-old bull that died by exsanguination caused by thousands of Asian longhorned ticks, many of which were the size of a poppyseed and, despite the use of pesticides.

“They are going to spread to pretty much every part of Ohio, and they are going to be a long-term management problem. There is no getting rid of them,” she said.

Pesapane elaborated on the reasons these ticks are so challenging to manage, which includes asexual reproduction and an ability to avoid pesticides. “There’s little stopping them from generating these huge numbers.”

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For more information:

Read the New York Post article.

Read about the study on osu.edu.

Read the study in Journal of Medical Entomology.

Read more about the Asian longhorned tick on LDA’s website.