By Teresa Carr
Adams County Senior Council
With the warmer weather coming, please be aware of another pest in our area. The Asian Longhorned Tick is an invasive pest established in Ohio as of 2021. They are reddish-brown, often smaller than a sesame seed and notoriously hard to identify because they look similar to other ticks, but they swarm in high numbers (hundreds to thousands) on animals.
Female Asian longhorned ticks reproduce without mating, laying up to 2, 000 eggs, which allows them to rapidly infest livestock, pets and wildlife. They are known to transmit Theileria orientalis in cattle, causing severe anemia and death.
Key Facts for Ohio:
· Identification: Unfed adults are roughly the size of a sesame seed and appear plain brown. Once engorged, they can swell to the size of a pea and turn grayish.
· Unique Behavior: They are known for “swarming” hosts in the thousands. You may see clusters of them on the tips of vegetation that look like clumps of seeds.
· Distribution: As of late 2025, they have been confirmed in 24 Ohio counties, primarily in the southeastern and central regions.
· Seasonality: While most active from March to November, they can remain active during the winter in Ohio.
Impact on Animals and Humans
· Livestock Threat: This tick is a major threat to cattle, sheep, and horses. Heavy infestations can lead to severe blood loss (exsanguination) and death.
· Disease Transmission: In Ohio, they transmit Theileria orientalis (Ikeda strain), which causes severe anemia, jaundice, and mortality in cattle.
· Human Health: While they prefer animals, they can bite humans. In the U.S., they have not yet been linked to human disease, though they are capable of transmitting pathogens like Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Heartland virus in laboratory settings.
Prevention and Management
· Pasture Management: Keep grass and weeds short. Use “management-intensive grazing” to rotate animals and reduce contact with overgrown paddocks.
· Personal Protection: Wear EPA-registered repellents, wear long sleeves/pants, and tuck pants into socks. Perform thorough tick checks immediately after coming indoors.
· Animal Care: Work with a veterinarian for tick prevention programs. Although few products are specifically labeled for ALHT in the U.S., many standard tick treatments (isoxazolines for small animals, permethrins for livestock) are effective.
Resources and Reporting
· Identification Help: Submit suspicious ticks to the Ohio State University Parasite and Pathogen Ecology Lab for free identification by emailing [email protected].
· Livestock Emergencies: Report unusually high numbers of ticks on livestock to the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) Division of Animal Health at (614) 728-6220.
· Official Fact Sheets:
o OSU Extension Ohioline Fact Sheet
o ODA ALHT Information Portal
Just A Thought: “Sometimes the only thing you could do for people was to be there.” ~Terry Pratchett
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