CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Insects as small as the tip of a pencil are causing big concerns.
"They're just sitting around waiting to jump on your pet, or jump on you, and sometimes they can jump from your pet to you," said Dr. Jay Hreiz, a veterinarian at Queen City Animal Hospital.
Dr. Hreiz knows about the uptick in ticks.
"If you have a stray dog you'll lift up their ear and they'll be hundreds of ticks attached to the inside of the ear," Hreiz said. "It's pretty crazy."
To raise awareness the Centers for Disease Control is issuing a new warning after the death of five cows in Surry County. All of them were linked to acute anemia caused by tick infestations.
The ticks were tested, and officials identified them as Asian longhorned ticks, known to be aggressive biters.
"We now can find ticks in our lawns," said a Dr. Alan Tagey from the Cleveland Clinic. "We can find them in the woods. We can find them where weeds are growing."
Many spend their summers outside, but it can come back to bite you.
Earlier this year a South Carolina mom warning others on Facebook after she plucked a tick from her six-year-old son's head.
Experts recommend routine checks for your pets and kids.
"Say hey we're going to take a break, guys, and look at all those soft, warm, delicious areas that the ticks love," Kaity Scruggs, a leader at the Girl Scout Hornets Nest of Charlotte, previously said.
Ticks are tiny in stature, but doctors are preaching prevention because of the sizable problems they can cause, such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever or Lyme disease in some cases.
As for this new Asian longhorned tick, Dr. Hreiz says there is some good news.
"They're susceptible to all the tick and flea control that we have in dogs and cats," Hreiz said.