Invasive Tick Found in Maine for the First Time

Researchers have confirmed the presence of an invasive species of tick in Maine for the first time, marking the farthest northeast in the US the pest has been discovered. The University of Maine and state conservation officials said Monday they confirmed the presence of the Asian longhorned tick in the state in July. The tick is native to east Asia, where it is capable of spreading tickborne infections such as spotted fever, the AP reports.

• The tick was first confirmed in the US in New Jersey in 2017, and it has since spread to more than 20 states, clustering mostly around the eastern third of the country. Exactly how the tick arrived in the country isn't certain, but public health officials have cited possible routes of entry including on pets and livestock.

• "This discovery underscores the critical importance of continued tick surveillance in Maine," said Griffin Dill, director of the UMaine Extension Tick Lab. "While this appears to be an isolated case, we are closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with state and federal partners."
• The tick specimen, not yet an adult, was collected in the southern part of the state, the lab said in a statement. Follow-up surveillance didn't turn up any additional specimens in the surrounding area, the lab said.
• "It has not yet been found in New Hampshire, so making that leap from southern New England all the way up to Maine leads me to believe that it's possible that it was brought in on a migratory bird, or someone's pet that had been out of state," Dill tells Maine Public Radio.

• Asian longhorned ticks feed on numerous animals, including cattle and humans. They pose a challenge for pest control authorities because female ticks of the species can reproduce without mating, which means a single individual can create an infestation, the lab said. The specimen found in Maine could not reproduce yet because it was a juvenile, the lab said.
• Research is still going on to determine the tick species' ability to spread pathogens in Maine and elsewhere in the US, the lab said. Ticks are a major public health concern in the Northeastern US, where another species, the blacklegged or deer tick, spreads Lyme disease.
• Authorities have urged the public to look out for unusual ticks. Dill says the species can be found in unexpected places. "They can be found in open, exposed areas like lawns and pastures and even marginal habitat around buildings, where there's gravel and other things, where we just wouldn't really necessarily expect to be seeing ticks," he says.