The blacklegged tick (also called the deer tick) is the only tick species in the eastern United States that transmits Lyme disease. Other common ticks in New Jersey, including the American dog tick and the lone star tick, do not carry the Lyme bacterium.
Some ticks are riskier than others. And if Lyme disease is your top concern, blacklegged ticks are the ones you need to watch out for.
Blacklegged adult ticks are small, about the size of a sesame seed. They have dark brown or black shields on their backs with an orangish-red abdomen. Nymphs, which are responsible for the majority of Lyme disease transmissions, are even smaller (about the size of a poppy seed). They’re very easy to miss on your skin. This is part of why New Jersey has one of the highest rates of Lyme disease in the whole country.
There is also the American dog tick around here. It’s larger with distinctive white or silver markings on its back. It’s likely the tick you’d recognize most easily because it’s the one you’re most likely to see crawling on you. It doesn’t carry Lyme disease, although it can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which though rare in New Jersey, does still happen from time to time.
The lone star tick can be identified by a single white dot on the female's back. It's aggressive and will bite humans readily. It does not transmit Lyme disease, but it is associated with ehrlichiosis and a red meat allergy known as alpha-gal syndrome. Its range has been expanding northward through New Jersey in recent years.
If you find a tick and can't identify it, save it in a sealed bag. Your doctor or local health department can help with identification. Regardless of the species, removing any tick promptly reduces your risk of disease transmission.
If you want to reduce tick populations on your North Jersey property, Mosquito Squad of North Jersey can help. Mosquito Squad will go after the shaded, vegetated areas where ticks wait for hosts. This can reduce their population by up to 90% for 21 days at a time. Re-treatments are done regularly throughout the season so your odds of contracting Lyme disease are a lot lower.
