New Aggressive Lone Star Tick Is Invading New York

It's tick season again in upstate New York and like most years, it's predicted to be another bad one. Since the winter was warmer than normal with lower than normal snowfall and even though we had some really cold spring days with snow, the tick population is thriving.

If you, your children, and your pets are spending time outside, in the woods, hiking, camping or just mowing the lawn you need to be aware of the threat of Lyme disease-carrying ticks. The deer tick is the one everyone is most afraid of since it carries the debilitating, tick-borne illness.

Now, it looks like there is a new tick threat that is invading New York and that's the Lone Star Tick. It's a large tick with a white dot, kinda star-shaped, marking on it's back. These ticks are really aggressive and although they don't carry Lyme disease they do carry several other serious bacterial and viral diseases, however, and can also cause a bizarre allergy to red meat. Man, I don't want to lose my ability to eat red meat...no burgers? In addition, they are twice as big as a deer tick, can run twice as fast, and bite so hard you can feel it.

Currently, the Lone Star tick has been found in Long Island and Western New York and is slowly moving through the state. According to the article at nyup.com the Lone Star tick is pushing this way. “Sooner or later we will have this problem. In the next year or two, we will slowly start to see it here.”

So in upstate New York mostly be on the lookout for the Deer tick or Black Legged tick as they carry Lyme disease and if you're traveling throughout the state be aware of the Lone Star tick....as well as bear, moose, rattlesnakes, coyotes, wolf, murder hornets...maybe we should all just stay home for a while longer this year.