Ticks of NJ

As citizen scientists, familiarizing yourselves with the ticks you may come across in New Jersey is essential. Each tick species is unique, living in different habitats and feeding on different hosts. But in New Jersey, ticks are found nearly everywhere, so it is important to take necessary tick preventions when enjoying the outdoors and entering tick habitats.

Listed below are the three tick species most likely to bite you in New Jersey. The fourth one doesn't often bite humans but is very common in some areas and may bite your dog. Each species is associated with different tick-borne diseases. If you find a tick on you, do not panic! Removing a tick is easy and submitting the tick is easier.

Indicates ticks that seek people as hosts!

Common Ticks of New Jersey

Ixodes scapularisblacklegged tick (old name "deer tick")
Amblyomma americanumlone star tick
Dermacentor variabilisAmerican dog tick

Spotlight: Recent invasive tick, very abundant in some areas.

Haemaphysalis longicornisAsian longhorned tick

Here we provide a published scientific paper on the ticks of New Jersey by Rutgers scientists!

Annotated List of the Hard Ticks (Acari: Ixodida: Ixodidae) of New Jersey

Many NJ ticks are unlikely to bite us and are usually associated with specific animals such as raccoons or squirrels or birds. If you are a hunter, handle livestock, are a wildlife rehabilitator or work in animal control or run a dog rescue, we might encounter some of these ticks and we encourage you to submit them to NJTicks4Science!

Other Ticks of New Jersey

Alectorobius kelleyi (formerly known as Carios kelleyi)bat tick
Dermacentor albipictuswinter tick, moose tick
Haemaphysalis leporispalustrisrabbit tick
Ixodes brunneusbird tick
Ixodes cookeigroundhog tick (woodchuck tick)
Ixodes dentatusrabbit tick
Ixodes texanusraccoon tick
Rhipicephalus sanguineus brown dog tick
Ixodes marxisquirrel tick

Spotlight: Potential new tick in New Jersey

Amblyomma maculatumGulf Coast tick