I pulled this tick nymph off of my son this afternoon and for the first few minutes thought it was a dog tick, but looking closer something didn't match. I looked at the pics of the nymph for the Asian longhorned tick and I don't think this is far off, but maybe Sue Gremlin, Bob, Manumuskin or someone else who is used to looking at these ticks more closely might be able to weigh in? Thank you for any help you can offer. BTW I acknowledge that these pics aren't the best, they were taken with a cell phone through a 10x loupe.
Is this an Asian longhorned tick?
- Thread starter NJChileHead
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Where did he pick it up? Lonestars are the only ticks in the pines proper. The smaller ones do have a light area towards their rear end. Does yours? You are right, it does look suspiciously like the one you mentioned, which I'm unfamiliar with.
Hi Bob, he picked it up in Mercer County. IIRC Hunterdon County, just north of us, was where the longhorned was first reported. The lighting in the second pic I shared didn't really capture the appearance of the nymph very well, the first one is a better shot of it I think.
I"m not really much on tick ID.me or Momma pulls them out depending on location,we then burn them with one of them long lighters and when were done regardless of species they all look pretty charred. You have two choices when it comes to ticks.Ekither douse yourself in a chemical bath every time before entering the woods or just get used to them,or of course you could stay out of the woods,not an option for me ,the little bastards are in my yard anyway..Now when their larvae hatch out (commonly known in these parts as chiggers though falsely so) Then I elect for the chemical bath. The adults I deal with,the babies are another story. I can also usually ignore skeeters and gnats but deer flies and greenheads are another story.We all have our limits.
I use a third choice, treating my clothes in advance with permethrin. You don't "douse yourself", just the clothes. I live in the woods and am out there a few hours every day. For me, nothing itches worse than a tick bite and it takes weeks to completely heal. I would rather not experience this, and with permethrin, I don't have to.
Thats what I was referring to,peremethrin. You have to spray your clothes but your clothes are on you. I save the stuff for the chiggers and just pick the ticks off.I can usually feel them tickling as they walk or itching as they chew in so most don't get in me.
It's a lone star tick nymph.
Asian longhorn ticks have very short, blunt mouthparts with a little flare at each side. Here's a side by side comparison of nymphs.
H. longicornis on the left, A. americanum on the right.
Asian longhorn ticks have very short, blunt mouthparts with a little flare at each side. Here's a side by side comparison of nymphs.
H. longicornis on the left, A. americanum on the right.
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Is Lone Star the only tick we have here? I thought we had deer ticks as well? Does Lone Star carry Lymes?
No, there are more than just Lone Star ticks in the pines, but they're the most numerous. They do not carry Lyme disease, only deer ticks do. You also have brown dog ticks, American dog ticks, rabbit ticks, etc etc. There are a lot of species, but they don't all bite people. Every one of them carries its own special brand of disease hell.
Sue thank you for the ID!
Regarding tick species in the Pine Barrens, I've also pulled deer ticks off of me in Medford (about 1 mile from the transition zone) and IIRC also at Bass River S.F. Still after all of these years I'm banging my head against the wall trying to figure out why ticks are do d*** numerous in the Pines. Thanks again to all for your input.
I have very seldom ever got ticks out of state like WV or PA but one place in PA I got ticks like I"ve never encountered in NJ.It was in the Popconos along the Trail from Panther swamp to Big bear swamp.Looked like chiggers only it was full grown ticks,hundreds of em
Had a place with over 50 acres of woods in NY near Lake Ontario from about 1980-2000. Never got a tick there, although the dogs got a few. Recently, I heard from somebody who still lives up there, and they said the ticks are terrible now. So, apparently their range has changed over time.
Any time. I am not kidding when I say IDing ticks is my favorite thing to do.
Went to christmas tree farm and brought home more than a tree 
