The National Park Service and Suffolk County Department of Health Services have confirmed the findings of Asian longhorned ticks (Haemaphysalis longicornis) in Suffolk County at Lloyd Harbor, William Floyd Estate, and Ocean Beach on Fire Island.
The Asian longhorned tick is native to East Asia. This tick species was first reported at large in the United States, after being discovered at a farm in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, in 2017. Since this initial discovery, Asian longhorned ticks have been found in Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. The female Asian longhorned tick can reproduce without mating through a process known as parthenogenesis. The species can be found on pets, livestock, wildlife, and people (on rare occasions). To date, no Asian longhorned tick has been found to be infected with pathogens in North America.