06/24/2026
Tick Abundance is Higher in Cedar Encroached Areas
Lone star tick was by far the most abundant species across sampling sites.
Two tick species were more abundant in cedar encroached areas than grasslands. The greatest increases were in the earliest stage of encroachment.
Total Count of Two Species
Lone Star Tick
- Open Grassland: 772
- Early Encroachment: 26,960
- Moderate Encroachment: 8,556
- Mature Encroachment: 8,008
American Dog Tick
- Open Grassland: 15
- Early Encroachment: 110
- Moderate Encroachment: 129
- Mature Encroachment: 106
Cedar Height & Cover
- Open grassland: Height 0ft, Cover 0%
- Early Encroachment: Height 12ft, Cover 30%
- Moderate Encroachment: Height 17ft, Cover 55%
- Mature Encroachment: Height 24ft, Cover 89%
Researchers collected 11,452 lone star ticks from a single trap in just 1.5 hours from one tree in an early encroachment site. (abnormal & excluded from analysis)
Propst et al. 2025 Effects of woody plant encroachment on abundance of multiple tick species in the U.S. Great Plains https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0332832
Tick Images: Tick Images: Susan Ellis USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org used and edited under CC BY-NC 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/deed.en
