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Posts Tagged Tick

A new tick is spreading through Virginia, threatening livestock, wildlife and maybe people

Posted by Nick Gilmore in Virginia's News on August 4, 2023

An Asian longhorned tick nymph is as big as a poppy seed and four times that size as an adult. (Credit: Kevin Lahmers, DVM, PhD / Virginia Tech)

A new kind of tick has been spreading across the United States. It may have come from Australia or New Zealand, and it turned up in Virginia in 2018.

Sandy Hausman reports on what makes the Asian longhorn especially scary and why a professor at Virginia Tech feels he was meant to help protect people and animals from the tiny brown biter.

Tick, Ticks, Virginia Tech

VMI faculty and students invent weapon to battle ticks

Posted by Nick Gilmore in Virginia's News on May 2, 2023

The tick rover picks up and kills 85-95% of the blood-sucking insects in treated areas. (Credit: VMI)

Spring is high season for ticks, and Virginia has 17 different kinds. Because they can carry Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and other dangerous conditions, the engineering department at the Virginia Military Institute has declared war on the bugs – using a robot to do battle. Sandy Hausman has that story.