AUBURN, Ala. (WTVM) – With temperatures warming up and humidity increasing, ticks are appearing outdoors at higher rates. The CDC is reporting this year has the highest weekly rate of emergency room visits for tick bites since 2017.
Ticks can spread a variety of diseases and harmful pathogens to both human and animal hosts. Symptoms vary and are usually minimal, but in advanced and more severe cases they can cause joint deterioration or memory issues.
Invasive species arrives in Alabama
As of April, the Asian longhorned tick has made Alabama its home. The invasive species is smaller than a sesame seed and can spread at rapid rates.
“The female tick just needs to take a blood meal from a host, and it really doesn’t matter what host it is. It could be a deer, a dog, a cow, whatever, and she just needs a little bit of time. Maybe a couple weeks to lay her eggs, but she doesn’t actually have to mate,” said Kathryn Reif, Ph.D., MSPH, Auburn University Bailey Goodwin Associate Professor in Parasitology…