The seasonal migration of some bird species may allow ticks to hitch a ride from Central and South America to the United States. Researchers found that 3% of migratory birds carried so-called neotropical ticks, which means birds likely bring more than 19 million neotropical ticks to the United States every spring. Fortunately, there is no evidence that any ticks have established permanent populations as exotic ticks can’t survive, reproduce, and spread in a Northern climate. However, some experts warn climate change may make it possible for these neotropical ticks to establish themselves in the United States in the future.
Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2015