I guess they brought the seed ticks with them. Rumor is they either came in on the Canadian Elk or those whitetail from WI you are talking about.
Wish they had never come down here. You can't enjoy the farm or woods anymore because of them.
Lots of irritating, insect-like things come down from the North to plague us southerners.
Well, if the insects get to be too much for you, let me know, and I might be interested in your land when you give up and move into a sterile environment.
Heck, seed ticks have been around here a lot longer than the elk. The seed ticks problably were attached to the rattlesnakes and copperheads they stocked here a few years ago.