Asian longhorned ticks have been detected in Illinois; it is the 20th state to discover the pest. The tick was discovered in Morgan County during a routine tick surveillance.
University of Illinois Extension educator Teresa Steckler says the invasive species can carry diseases that affect cattle. “All livestock producers need to be much more vigilant,” she says. “They need to get with their herd veterinarian and develop protocols using external parasite treatments to hopefully keep these ticks at a minimum.” She says use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered insect repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus (OLE), para-menthane-diol (PMD) or 2-undecanone.
