Tick Control: What You Should Know

Tick Control: Everything You Need to Know

Ticks are one of the most problematic pests you can encounter in or around your home. Unlike some bugs, ticks aren’t just a nuisance. Rather than simply causing itchy bites, ticks are capable of transmitting serious diseases, including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and more.

Considering how dangerous they can be, tick control in and around your home is incredibly important. But how do you control ticks in your area? How can they be avoided, and what preventative measures can you take? Keep reading to find out.

Where Do Ticks Live?

Ticks primarily dwell in shady, moist areas, and tend to be found around ground level. They’ll typically cling to tall grass, trees, bushes, and shrubs, although they rarely climb higher than a couple of feet from the ground.

When you walk through an area with tall, thick grass, heavy underbrush, or dense wooded growth of any kind, there’s a risk that you could come into contact with ticks. While they’re not capable of jumping or flying onto you, they’ll actively lay in wait of a passing host and grab onto you as you brush up against grass and undergrowth. Because of their incredibly small size, ticks are very hard to see, making it relatively easy for them to hitch a ride with you realizing it.

What Problems Can Ticks Cause?

A lot of bugs out there are annoying, but far from dangerous. Ticks on the other hand, though, are capable of spreading a number of serious diseases. These include:

• Lyme disease, a serious condition that causes inflammation, nerve pain, joint pain, and other symptoms
• Powassan virus, capable of causing neurological issues and even death
• Ehrlichiosis, a bacterial infection resulting in flu-like symptoms
• Babesiosis, a parasitic infection that destroys red blood cells
• Anaplasmosis, a bacterial infection that can cause fever, headache, nausea, hemorrhage, and even renal failure and death

How Can You Achieve Tick Control?

The bottom line is clear: ticks are dangerous, and it’s important to do what you can to prevent tick bites. When you’re out for a hike or spending time in wooded areas, it’s important to wear long pants, long sleeves, and use tick repellent, particularly during the summer when ticks are the most active.

But how can you achieve tick control around your home? While it can be helpful to clean up underbrush, mow your grass, and generally tidy up, sometimes you’ll need to take more serious measures to control a major tick infestation.

While there are products that you can use on your own to treat your yard and any shrubbery around your home, we highly recommend contacting a tick control professional like Home Pest Control. We have the knowledge and experience necessary to ensure that tick treatment is applied at the correct rate and in the right spots, effectively eliminating ticks around your home and preventing them from returning. Contact us today to get started.