Common species in New Jersey
New Jersey follows the state health led source pattern. The species below are drawn from the state-authority sources listed in the sidebar Data Row.
- Brown dog tick (dog/kennel context)
- Asian longhorned tick (NJ was an early U.S. detection state — now established statewide)
- Continuing Asian longhorned tick range expansion (NJDA + NJDOH ongoing surveillance)
When ticks are most active
Broad caution April through October. Blacklegged tick nymphs peak May-July; lone star tick activity May-August (statewide presence, not just southern NJ); Asian longhorned tick is active spring through fall and can occur in extreme densities on livestock + outdoor pets. NJ is among the highest Lyme-incidence states.
Where you're most likely to encounter ticks
Pine Barrens hiking, Sussex + Warren County hunting properties, Watchung Reservation + suburban North Jersey edges, Hunterdon + Somerset County trails, Jersey Shore coastal pine + dune transition zones, Skylands + Delaware Water Gap, dog walking in any tall-grass edge, livestock + horse properties (Asian longhorned tick driver).
Disease context
Each disease named below carries an evidence tag per the Data Row policy. Pills indicate the strength of state-specific evidence, not the severity of the disease. Symptoms should always be routed to a clinician; this is orientation, not diagnosis.
- Lyme diseasestate surveillance confirmed
NJ DOH publishes county-level Lyme data; consistently top 5 nationally per-capita
- Anaplasmosisstate surveillance confirmed
- Babesiosisstate surveillance confirmed
- Powassan virus diseasestate surveillance confirmed
- Ehrlichiosisstate surveillance confirmed
- Alpha-gal syndromestate unique angle
Lone star expansion + documented NJ cases
- Rocky Mountain spotted fevernon diagnostic mention only
- Tularemianon diagnostic mention only
If you find a tick — what to do
Map resolution notes
mixed resolution.NJDOH publishes county-level Lyme + tickborne disease data supporting county-resolution claims. Rutgers publications support habitat-resolution claims (Pine Barrens vs Highlands vs Piedmont). Asian longhorned tick distribution is actively updated by NJDA. CDC maps support national comparison.
State sources
- Primary species source
- New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) Communicable Disease Service + NJDOH Vector-borne Illnesses; Rutgers Center for Vector Biology and Rutgers Cooperative Extension for species + life-stage nuance.
- Primary health source
- NJDOH Communicable Disease Service tickborne disease surveillance + reportable disease summaries; NJDOH guidance for clinicians; CDC pages and maps for national guardrails.
- Primary extension source
- Rutgers Cooperative Extension + Rutgers Center for Vector Biology publications on NJ tick species, Asian longhorned tick (NJ early-detection state), and yard/property tick management.
- Surveillance
- NJDOH county-level Lyme + tickborne disease surveillance; New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA) animal-health + Asian longhorned tick monitoring (NJ early-detection); Rutgers Center for Vector Biology for academic surveillance + species + ALT context; CDC for national comparison.