'Horror Show:' 200+ Ticks Found On Dog In Monmouth County Park

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — What should have been a peaceful late spring walk in the park turned into a nightmare for one East Brunswick family, as their dog came home bitten by more than 200 ticks last Saturday afternoon.

The family, who has now shelled out hundreds of dollars in vet bills and is still waiting to find out if their dog has Lyme disease or worse, wants the Monmouth County park system to put up warning signs, so other families and their pets can avoid what they've endured.

Rutgers researchers warned in March that New Jersey could see a "surge" in ticks this spring, thanks to the mild, wet winter. Additionally, a spokeswoman for the Monmouth County park system said this is not the first report they've gotten of an unusually high number of ticks in county parks.

"To say that this was a horror show is really underestimating what we had to go through," Leon Gurevich, the East Brunswick father of two, told Patch.

This past Saturday, Gurevich, his wife and their two children went to Perrineville Lake Park in Millstone Township (Monmouth County). They took their Schnauzer Yorkie mix, Phoebe, on a one-mile stroll through the park, which is known for its serene walking trails and fishing pond. The dog stayed on a leash the entire time, and the family only walked on well-manicured trails. Not only that, the small dog (the breed is nicknamed "Snorkie") also takes an oral tick and flea repellent, NexGard. She's taken it for months now, Gurevich said.

"We got to the park at 1:30 p.m., had a picnic first and then went for about an hour-long hike," said the dad. "We never went into long grasses; we stayed on a trail that was completely groomed and well-manicured for the entire time. And it was only a one-mile walk."

It wasn't until the family was back home in East Brunswick that Gurevich said he "felt something."

"I found a tick climbing on me, so then I went over to the dog and saw her biting her leg," he said. "That's when we found one tick. And then another. And another."

Gurevich said he is not exaggerating when he says that he and his wife pulled anywhere from 150 to more than 200 ticks off their dog that afternoon. The ticks were not merely crawling in her fur; each tick had bitten the animal, he said.

"On every square millimeter of her body there was a tick. We called our vet because we were just so alarmed," he said. "And they told us to just keep pulling the ticks off using rubbing alcohol and make sure to get the head of the tick, not to leave it burrowed in the skin."

Gurevich said he and his wife starting pulling ticks off their dog at about 3 p.m. Saturday afternoon and didn't finish until midnight. Exhausted, they put Phoebe in her crate and collapsed into bed. Then at 3 a.m., they heard the dog whimpering.

"I went to get her and there were still more ticks on her," he said.

The next morning, Sunday, the family was so disturbed they took the dog to their vet, who found even more ticks on her. The vet gave her antibiotics and took blood samples from the dog. But the family won't know for five to six weeks what, if any, kinds of viruses Phoebe has been exposed to from the ticks.

A tick surge in New Jersey

Gurevich said he told the Monmouth County Park System about what happened last Saturday. This is the second report this spring the county received about a high number of ticks in county parks, said Karen Livingstone, a park spokeswoman. In May, a visitor to Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold also reported their dog had encountered a high number of ticks.

Phoebe was bitten by the lone star tick, Gurevich said, who said he researched it after this happened. That's entirely possible, according to entomology (study of insects) researchers at the Rutgers Center for Vector Biology.

The lone star tick has always existed in New Jersey, but in recent years it has surged in population in the state, and its territory has steadily crept further northward, possibly due to climate change. For example, the lone star was previously only found in Monmouth County. But last spring, Rutgers researchers found it "abundant" at several sites in Middlesex County, according to their first-ever Tick Blitz, a 2018 study of New Jersey's growing tick population.

The lone star is a particularly aggressive type of tick, researchers say, meaning it will aggressively bite. It is also the primary tick carrier of ehrlichiosis, a bacterial disease that typically causes fever, headache, fatigue and muscle aches. Ehrlichiosis can affect both dogs and humans.

Earlier this spring, those same Rutgers researchers had warned that the New Jersey could see a surge in ticks this May and June, as the mild, rainy weather of the past two winters had the potential to cause a tick population boom.

"The exceptionally wet weather in 2018 could favor exceptionally large populations of ticks this year, increasing the threat of Lyme disease and other pathogens they transmit," Professor Dina Fonseca said in March of this year. Fonesca is the director of the Center for Vector Biology at Rutgers.

And more ticks are coming: Two other species, including the Gulf Coast tick, are expanding their range northward and Rutgers scientists predict they may eventually arrive in the Garden State.

Also this spring, an extremely rare tick-borne virus, Powassan, has resurfaced in New Jersey. Powassan is a disease that is rarely seen, but cases of it have tripled in the past two years, said state health officials.

An 80-year-old man in Sussex County was diagnosed with the virus in May, his daughter posted on Facebook. Armand Desormeaux, 80, of Hampton suffered from several medical issues over the years, but he remained active. He was bitten by a tick in April, his daughter Dianne Desormeaux Rude said in the Facebook post; several weeks later, on May 6, he developed a fever, began to experience tremors and became unable to speak. He died May 16 at Newton Medical Center. His daughter said she received confirmation that he was killed by the Powassan virus.

The other New Jersey man diagnosed with recovering at home, according to Donna Leusner, a spokesperson with the state Department of Health.

According to Livingston, every park in the Monmouth County park system has a sign posted warning visitors about ticks, and there are also tick warnings on park brochures and on its website. She said the Gurevich family probably did not see it because they parked in an undeveloped portion of the park, which has no information kiosk.

She also said it's impossible for Monmouth County to spray its parks for ticks.

"We do not spray for ticks. With over 150 miles of trails spread across 17,000+ acres, it is not practical to spray," said Livingston. "We understand and can appreciate Mr. Gurevich’s concern about ticks on his dog. There is no question that ticks are a serious health concern."

This East Brunswick dad wants to share his story so people know to be on alert for ticks in New Jersey and avoid the serious situation he experienced.

If you want to enjoy the outdoors this spring, here are tips from the Monmouth County Park System on staying tick smart:

• Wear-light colored clothing to spot ticks more easily.
• Spray tick repellent before entering trails and natural areas. Know the different types of spray and their effective uses.
• Stay on trails, avoid grassy edges and other low vegetation. Do not go into the woods or tall grass.
• Thoroughly inspect yourself, as well as children and pets, after a park visit or ANY time spent outdoors.
• Follow recommendations from your veterinarian for your pet.

Related Patch reporting: Dangerous Tick-Borne Disease Spreads In NJ As Infected Man Dies (Published June 10, 2019)

Tick Surge Possible In NJ This Spring, Experts Warn (Published March 17, 2019)