The Asian longhorned tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, is the newest tick species identified in the United States. Native to East Asia, this tick has spread globally and was officially identified in New Jersey in 2017; however, based on collected samples, it’s now thought this tick has been in the U.S. since 2010 or earlier.
This tick is an indiscriminate ectoparasite. It has been found on humans, pets, livestock and wildlife and is rapidly spreading across the country. It has been reported most in southern New England, the mid-Atlantic and along the Appalachian corridor of West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina/ Tennessee. As of December 2021, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the USDA identified the tick in 17 states. The states with the most reports are Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina. Reports in 2021 show that the tick has now crossed the Mississippi River and has spread to the western borders of Missouri and Arkansas.