OXFORD, Ohio (WKRC) – A new invasive species, the Asian longhorned tick, has been discovered in the Tri-State area, raising concerns for pet owners.

Chantel Raghu, a veterinarian at the Oxford Veterinary Hospital, identified the tick after a dog owner brought in their pet covered in hundreds of ticks following outdoor play in Middletown.

“The owner had found that the dog had stepped into a nest of a bunch of tiny little ticks and the dog unfortunately was not on tick prevention,” Raghu said. “We removed the ticks, got the dog on medication, and then I was looking at the tick under the microscope and realized that it was different from what I’d seen before.”

The United States Department of Agriculture confirmed the tick as a longhorned tick, first reported in the U.S. in 2017 and known for its rapid spread.

“The crazy thing about this tick is that it can reproduce asexually, meaning they don’t have to mate to lay thousands of ticks,” Raghu said.

While most of southwest Ohio shows no record of the tick, its presence in Butler County suggests it may be in other surrounding counties as well.

Raghu noted due to warmer temperatures and moderate winters that “not only are we having more ticks and different types of ticks, but we’re having them year-round.”

Pet owners are advised to ensure their animals are on flea and tick prevention medication, which is effective against the longhorned tick. Keeping lawns well-maintained can also help reduce tick habitats.

The tick must bite and latch on for about a day before it can transmit serious infections like Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Prevention and protection remain the best defense against this invasive species.