New Gulf Coast tick species found in suburbs, but 'we don't need to freak out'
Andres Ortega, DuPage County Forest Preserve District ecologist, stands in the Dunham Forest Preserve in Wayne, where three Gulf Coast ticks were recently found.
John Starks | Staff Photographer
A Gulf Coast tick can look similar to the more common American dog tick in the average person's eyes, requiring a close comparison.
Courtesy of Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
An adult female Gulf Coast tick is pictured on the left, and an adult male on the right.
Courtesy of Emily Struckhoff, INHS Medical Entomology Lab, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign