Common species in New York
New York 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 only if sourced)
- Gulf Coast tick (rare; emerging/unusual submission context)
- Asian longhorned tick (NYSDOH + Ag & Markets surveillance, established in multiple counties)
- Lone star tick (continuing northward + island expansion documented by NYSDOH)
When ticks are most active
Broad caution April through October. Blacklegged tick nymphs peak May-July; adult blacklegged ticks active spring and fall and can move on warm winter days. Lone star ticks active May-August with strong Long Island + Hudson Valley presence. Asian longhorned tick activity documented late spring through fall.
Where you're most likely to encounter ticks
Catskills + Adirondacks hiking, Long Island beaches and pine barrens, Hudson Valley trails and farmland, Westchester/Putnam suburban yards (highest-risk Lyme corridor), Finger Lakes wine country and parks, NYC outer-borough parks (Pelham Bay, Van Cortlandt, Greenbelt), Fire Island, Shelter Island and the South Fork, dog walking in any tall-grass edge.
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
Among the highest-incidence states nationally; NYSDOH publishes county-level Lyme surveillance. Hudson Valley + Long Island counties consistently lead.
- Anaplasmosisstate surveillance confirmed
- Babesiosisstate surveillance confirmed
Long Island + Hudson Valley clusters
- Powassan virus diseasestate surveillance confirmed
- Ehrlichiosisstate surveillance confirmed
- Hard tick relapsing feverstate surveillance confirmed
- Alpha-gal syndromestate unique angle
Lone star expansion + reported cases on Long Island make NY a watch state for AGS
- Rocky Mountain spotted fevernon diagnostic mention only
- Tularemianon diagnostic mention only
If you find a tick — what to do
Map resolution notes
mixed resolution.NYSDOH publishes county-level Lyme surveillance; that data supports county-resolution Lyme/blacklegged claims. Cornell Northeast IPM supports regional/state-level claims. NYC DOHMH covers the five boroughs separately. CDC maps support national comparison. Do not infer fine-grained neighborhood or upstate-rural-vs-Hudson-Valley risk without citing NYSDOH county data explicitly.
State sources
- Primary species source
- NYSDOH "Ticks and Lyme Disease" hub and NYSDOH Bureau of Communicable Disease Control tick-species/distribution publications; Cornell University CALS supports biology, life-stage, and habitat nuance via Northeast IPM.
- Primary health source
- NYSDOH "Ticks and Lyme Disease," NYSDOH Lyme/anaplasmosis/babesiosis/Powassan surveillance reports, NYSDOH Communicable Disease Annual Reports, and NYC DOHMH guidance for disease/surveillance framing; CDC pages and maps provide national guardrails.
- Primary extension source
- Cornell Cooperative Extension and NYS IPM Program (Cornell CALS) for tick biology, life stages, yard/property tick management, and county-level extension office routing.
- Surveillance
- NYSDOH county-level Lyme + tickborne disease surveillance; NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets (DAM) and Cornell Veterinary College for animal-health and Asian longhorned tick context; NYC DOHMH for the five boroughs; Cornell-led Northeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases (CDC-funded) for surveillance studies; CDC for national comparison.