There’s A New Type of Tick in Town

The Cape is seeing some new Southern visitors this year and their company is not welcome.  The Lone Star tick, commonly found in the South, has made its way up to parts of the Cape including Sandy Neck Beach, according to Cape Cod Times.

A dozen Lone Start ticks were found off of the beach’s trails in what is the first known case of the tick in our area. The tick gets its name from the single white dot found on the back of females.

While these ticks don’t carry the threat of Lyme disease, they do have their own bag of tricks, including tularemia, human ehrlichiosis, Southern Tick Associated Rash Illness (STARI) and lastly, the ability to leave you with an allergy to red meat. Local Entomologist Larry Dapsis said the meat allergy can trigger a range or reactions from hives all the way to life-threatening anaphylactic shock.

There is no evidence yet that the Lone Star tick will begin a westward migration and for now, seems to be contained to parts of Cape Cod and Cuttyhunk.