A late‑summer tick drag on Long Island in New York revealed clusters of lone star tick larvae, blacklegged ticks, and an invasive Asian longhorned tick.

The work was organized by Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen, co‑founders of the Tick Boot Camp podcast. They coordinated scientific sampling and documentary filming with public health researcher Monica Cipriani and filmmaker Reece Robinson.

The team sampled three common environments: a working farm, a multi‑use walking and biking trail, and a residential yard near a groundwater basin.

Lone star tick larvae were abundant. One 10‑second drag collected 16 larvae, and other drags produced hundreds. Several areas contained dense clusters of newly hatched larvae, often called “tick bombs.”

The team also identified an Asian longhorned tick at the farm site. The species, first confirmed in the United States in 2017, can reproduce without mating and lay about 2,000 eggs.

Robinson documented the field work for his upcoming film Ticking Point, which focuses on lone star ticks, alpha‑gal syndrome, and the human impact of expanding tick populations. Tick Boot Camp will release studio interviews from the project on its podcast.

Read the full story, view photographs, and learn more about the findings: Tick Bombs and an Invasive Tick: What Tick Boot Camp and Researchers Found While Dragging for Ticks on Long Island.

Watch the complete video collection: Tick Dragging on Long Island: Lyme Disease, Alpha-Gal & Tick Research.