Common species in North Carolina
North Carolina follows the split authority source pattern. The species below are drawn from the state-authority sources listed in the sidebar Data Row.
- Blacklegged tick (mountains + Piedmont)
- Gulf Coast tick (coastal counties)
- Asian longhorned tick (NCDA&CS + NC State surveillance — established in NC; first U.S. detection state for this species)
When ticks are most active
Long active window — April through October across most of NC. Lone star tick most active April-August; American dog tick peaks spring-summer; blacklegged tick active spring + fall in mountains and Piedmont; brown dog tick year-round in kennels. Coastal NC can see activity in mild winters.
Where you're most likely to encounter ticks
Appalachian Mountains + Blue Ridge Parkway hiking, Pisgah + Nantahala National Forests, Research Triangle (Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill) parks + suburban edges, Charlotte + Piedmont trails, Outer Banks + coastal counties, Uwharrie Mountains, Croatan National Forest, hunting properties statewide, dog walking in tall-grass edges.
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.
- Rocky Mountain spotted feverstate surveillance confirmed
NC consistently reports among the highest U.S. RMSF case counts; NC DHHS publishes surveillance
- Ehrlichiosisstate surveillance confirmed
Lone star tick territory; NC reports significant ehrlichiosis case loads
- Alpha-gal syndromestate unique angle
NC is in the documented AGS high-incidence cluster; major lone star tick territory
- STARIregional pattern
Lone star tick range — STARI clinically presents like Lyme but cause is undefined
- Lyme diseasestate surveillance confirmed
Lower per-capita than Northeast but present in NC mountains + Piedmont
- Anaplasmosisstate surveillance confirmed
- Tularemianon diagnostic mention only
If you find a tick — what to do
Map resolution notes
mixed resolution.NC DHHS publishes county-level reportable-disease data supporting county-resolution claims for RMSF, ehrlichiosis, Lyme. NC State Extension covers ecoregion-resolution (Mountains vs Piedmont vs Coastal Plain) for species + habitat claims. Asian longhorned tick distribution is actively updated by NCDA&CS. CDC maps support national comparison.
State sources
- Primary species source
- North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) Division of Public Health Communicable Disease Branch + Tick-Borne Diseases hub; NC State Extension + NC State Department of Entomology publications on NC tick species and life cycles.
- Primary health source
- NC DHHS Communicable Disease Branch tickborne disease surveillance; NC DHHS RMSF + ehrlichiosis + Lyme reports; CDC pages and maps for national guardrails.
- Primary extension source
- NC State Extension (NC Cooperative Extension Service) and NC State Department of Entomology publications on Asian longhorned tick (NC was the first U.S. detection state), lone star tick + RMSF ecology, and yard/property tick management.
- Surveillance
- NC DHHS Communicable Disease tickborne disease surveillance + reportable disease summaries; NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) animal-health + Asian longhorned tick monitoring (NC is the U.S. ALT discovery state); NC State Tick Lab + Southeast Regional Center for Excellence in Vector-Borne Diseases; CDC for national comparison.