BEWARE: Disease-Causing Longhorned Tick Found In Missouri For First Time

The Longhorned tick has been discovered in northern Missouri for the first time, according to Modern Farmer.

The pests have already wreaked havoc in other states. According to the University of Missouri-Columbus, "the Longhorned tick causes the loss of millions of dollars in agricultural revenue to cattle producers world-wide, and it is now in Missouri."

The Longhorned tick, which are light brown in color and can range from the size of a sesame seed to the size of a pea when full of blood, causes disease and significant weight loss in cows, according to Modern Farmer. The biggest concern for cattle ranchers and fairy farmers is their herds getting a disease that attacks and kills red blood cells in cows called bovine theileriosis, which has a high mortality rate.

Symptoms of bovine theiloriosis include weight loss, high fever and swollen lymph nodes in cattle. However, at the time of this writing, no cases of the disease have been reported in Missouri cattle.

In addition, female Longhorned ticks don't need a male to reproduce, which lakes it easy for them to lay thousands of eggs, according to Modern Farmer. Luckily, the ticks have been found to be less interested in human skin than other native tick species.