Category Archives: Let’s Talk About Ticks

 
You might know ticks as annoying pests that you need to worry about throughout the summer. They aren’t the most pleasant guests because they can carry diseases that harm your health. However, tick control services and other solutions are readily available. It’s just a matter of learning how to get rid of ticks in your yard using the method that’s right for you.

Get Rid of Ticks with Natural Remedies

Before you go on a tick-eliminating spree, it’s important to consider the best way to deal with these pests. Of course, you can blast them with pesticides. But those can be a bit harsh, especially if you have a loved one who has a sensitive respiratory system. If you’d like to learn how to keep ticks out of your yard with natural remedies, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s review some options.

Cedar Oil Spray

Cedar oil spray is a practical, nontoxic treatment that removes ticks. You can find it in most home improvement or gardening stores. Just apply it to any area of your yard where you’ve noticed tick activity. What’s also beneficial about this spray is that you can use it directly on your skin or clothing when you’re out and about.

While buying a ready-made cedar oil spray is easy, you can always make the mixture yourself if you’re stuck at home without it. Grab an empty spray bottle and add about 60 drops of cedarwood oil. Then dilute with water and add in an ounce of grain alcohol. After that, shake it up, let it settle, and then usher the ticks away from you with a few sprays.

Eucalyptus or Neem Oil

Eucalyptus and neem oil are like kryptonite for ticks. They’ll die instantly if they come in contact with these essential oils. Like cedar oil spray, you can easily make this solution. Grab a spray bottle and mix 30 drops of your chosen oil with four ounces of water. Shake and then spray away.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE)

Another excellent tick treatment for the yard is diatomaceous earth. It’s a powdered form of diatoms and probably one of the more potent natural remedies pests fear. If you plan to use this around your home, don’t worry. It’s entirely safe for kids, pets, and adults.

However, when ticks come in contact with it, they will become dehydrated immediately. That’s a death sentence for ticks because it kills them within a few hours. After a few sprays around your yard, you’ll notice less tick presence, allowing you to enjoy your backyard comfortably.

Get Rid of Ticks with Chemicals

Natural remedies are powerful and can eliminate ticks. But sometimes, the issue may call for more aggressive measures. In these cases, there are multiple options to choose from.

Acaricides

Acaricides can be used as a tick treatment for the yard. However, you must combine this solution with other tick control measures to make the most of this method. It’s also important to note that you should be careful when working with this chemical because it can be highly toxic. If you feel uneasy using this around your home, let the experts at Mosquito Joe® take care of the problem for you.

Fogger:

A fogger is a device that spreads insecticides to eliminate ticks and other pests that may be lurking in your yard. For the most effective chance at tick removal, look for EPA-approved foggers that include a specific insecticide for ticks.

Permethrin Yard Spray:

Another effective tick control measure is permethrin spray. It’s in the pyrethroid family of insecticides and is an excellent tool for perimeter pest control. Before spraying away, read the label on your product because not all permethrin sprays can be applied to particular surfaces or plants.

How Do Professionals From Mosquito Joe® Get Rid of Ticks?

Tick control can be a DIY project, but depending on the method you use, it will require dealing with chemicals, consistent application, and continued maintenance in order to be effective. If you’d rather not deal with all of that, then enlist the help of the local pest control professionals at Mosquito Joe. We know the best way to get rid of these pests, and how to keep them away. Here’s how our process works:

1. Tick inspection

We start with a tick inspection to find out the problem areas in your yard. Remember, although ticks love grass, they can also enter your home through pets or vermin. So we’ll need to check the interior and exterior for certain hot spots they may frequent.

2. Treatment

Following an inspection, we’ll treat your yard and other areas to remove ticks immediately. While we do this, we ask that you keep kids and pets away from the treatment area for at least 30 minutes to allow the application to dry. Once it’s settled, everyone will be able to enjoy the outdoors.

3. Follow-up Treatments

We’ll usually return for a follow-up monthly treatment to keep ticks at bay. Since these pests have a unique life cycle, missing a treatment might mean a rise in the tick population in and around your property. Tick treatment for the yard should start around spring and go into the early fall for the best results.

Maintain a Tick-Free Yard with Mosquito Joe

Now you know how to get rid of ticks in your yard. You can use these methods to protect your family and pets from ticks. If you’re not sure how to apply these methods or you would rather not take a DIY approach to tick control, let the experts at your local Mosquito Joe take care of ticks for you. We offer mosquito and tick control services, and can help you with other pest problems too! All of our work is backed by the Neighborly Done Right Promise™, which guarantees complete customer satisfaction. So, don’t let a tick problem get under your skin, call the pros at Mosquito Joe, and request a free quote today!

It doesn’t matter if it’s the spring, summer, or fall; when the weather permits and outside temps are reasonable, many of us venture outdoors to relax and have some fun. Whether parents, kids, and the family dog go for a hike, head to the beach, or simply roughhouse and relax in the backyard, it’s essential to be on the lookout for ticks.

These tiny, blood-sucking pests can have an outsized impact on the health and well-being of the entire family. Don’t wait for someone to get bit and possibly be infected with a common tick disease. Prevention is key. It’s time to prepare for tick season.

What You Need To Know About Ticks

There’s a lot to learn about ticks; they can be weirdly, even disgustingly fascinating. For instance, did you know that ticks aren’t insects? Ticks have eight legs and are classified as parasitic arachnids. Adult ticks range in size from that of a poppy seed to an apple seed, and they feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals. When engorged with blood, these tiny biters swell from the size of a small seed up to the size of a blueberry!

Because ticks are so small, you are unlikely to feel their bite. But once a tick finds someone to bite, it grasps the skin, cuts a hole in it, inserts its barbed feeding tube, and begins to suck blood. The barbs hold the tick in place while the host moves about. An adult female tick can remain attached to its host, feeding on its blood for seven to ten days, after which it will detach and fall off. After the first 36-48 hours of feeding, a Lyme disease-carrying tick is most likely to transmit the disease bacterium to its host.

Immature ticks, called nymphs, are the most frequent cause of Lyme disease in humans. Measuring just 2 millimeters across, nymphs are very difficult to see. Nymphs are most active feeding during spring and summer, which is often considered tick season.

Ticks generally make their homes in wooded areas with overgrown shrubs, tall grasses, fallen branches, and plenty of leaf litter. They typically rest at the tips of grass and shrubs, waiting to grab onto a passing animal to feed. But ticks are not only found in woods. They are plentiful in the coastal brush and grasses around the beach and can make their home in your backyard. In fact, most humans are bitten by ticks in their own gardens.

When is Tick Season?

Depending on your climate, tick season, or the time when adult ticks are most active, is from early March to mid-May and mid-August to November. However, for the following thirteen states, tick season is year-round:

1. Alabama
2. Arizona
3. California
4. Florida
5. Georgia
6. Louisiana
7. Mississippi
8. Nevada
9. North Carolina
10. Oregon
11. South Carolina
12. Texas
13. Washington

When Does Tick Season End?

Tick season typically ends when temperatures drop below freezing. However, to kill off ticks, the weather must be below 10 degrees Fahrenheit for a sustained number of days. As winters get warmer, tick seasons will last longer, and more people and pets risk getting bitten.

Risks and Symptoms of Tick Bites

Most tick bites are painless, with just a few mild symptoms like redness, swelling, or soreness at the bite. However, some ticks carry and transmit disease-causing bacteria and can lead to Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick-borne relapsing fever, and Tularemia, among others. And even those ticks that don’t transmit disease can have their head or jaws detach from the tick’s body and remain in the host they bite, causing infection. This is why it is critical to learn to remove ticks safely. Of course, because feeding ticks suck blood, bites can lead to anemia.

Unlike most biting insects, ticks bite once and hang on rather than biting in clusters. The more they feed, the larger and more noticeable they become. Harmless tick bites often cause no symptoms or visible signs. Some cause a red bump that looks like a mosquito bite. People who are allergic to tick bites may experience:

• Painful swelling at the bite
• A rash
• A burning sensation
• Blisters
• Shortness of breath in extreme cases

However, not all tick bites are so relatively harmless. Symptoms of tick-borne diseases include:

• Rash at the bite site*
• Full body rash
• Fever
• Chills
• Headache
• Stiff neck
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Weakness
• Muscle aches
• Joint pain
• Swollen lynch nodes
• A fever spoke around 102 or 103°F
• Abdominal pain

*A Lyme disease rash looks like a bullseye, with a red bump at the center, surrounded by a ring of paler flesh, surrounded by a reddened ring. If you, a family member, or a pet is showing any of these symptoms following a tick bite, seek prompt medical attention.

Preventative Routine to Best Prepare for Tick Season

Although ticks are found in some of our favorite getaway spots, like the woods, mountains, and beaches, most people get bitten by ticks in their own backyard. Ticks hide and breed in unkempt or overgrown vegetation. So, let’s see how to prepare for tick season:

Your property:

• Keep your grass well-mown
• Keep your trees trimmed
• Keep up with the weeding
• Remove leaf litter
• Move swing sets and sandboxes away from shrubs, bushes, and other vegetation
• Discourage deer and other wildlife
• Keep fences and other barriers to wildlife in good repair
• Layer gravel or cedar wood chips between the lawn or garden and any wooded areas
• Don’t over water; ticks are attracted to moisture
• Have professional tick control service spray every month

Your pets:

• Apply a monthly topical flea and tick medication
• Keep bird feeders and bird baths away from pet areas
• Carefully inspect your pet’s body each night
• Give regular baths
• Launder pet bedding and toys

You and your family:

• Avoid tall grass and wooded areas, hiking only in the middle of trails
• Wear lightweight clothing to make it easier to spot ticks on it
• Wear clothing that completely covers you, tucking pant legs into socks when hiking
• Treat boots, hiking wear, and camping gear with permethrin
• Tie back long hair or wear a hat
• Shower after returning indoors, and carefully inspect your body for ticks, paying particular attention to:
  1. Neck
  2. Under arms
  3. Behind ears
  4. Behind knees
  5. Inside elbow joints
  6. Under hair and on the scalp
  7. Inside the belly button
  8. Around the waist
  9. Groin area

When examining yourself, your kids, and your pets, check the same areas, plus the ears, mouth, and between the toes for your pet. If you find one attached, remove the tick safely, and save it for testing should symptoms develop.

Keeping Your Family Safe During Tick Season

While the ways to prepare for tick season may seem burdensome, they are nothing compared to suffering with a tick-borne disease. According to insurance records, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that “approximately 476,000 Americans are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease every year.”

This accounts only for humans who sought medical care contracting just one of the diseases ticks carry. Don’t let one of your family members, furry or not, become a statistic. Make tick season precautions a regular part of your family’s health care.

Mosquito Joe for Reliable Tick Control Services Near You

Tick season preparations may seem like a heavy lift, but Mosquito Joe is here to help! Not only do we provide effective mosquito control and flea control, but we can also help you rid your property of ticks. Our barrier spray applications target tall grasses, shrubs, plants, and trees where mosquitoes, fleas, and ticks hide and breed. Our professional technicians will tailor our services to meet your property’s specific needs.

As a Neighborly company, we make it our business to become the local experts on the pest issues in neighborhoods across the country. And you can trust that we do our work promptly and efficiently because every visit is backed by the Neighborly Done Right Promise™  and the Mosquito Joe® Satisfaction Guarantee!

Don’t Wait for Tick Season – Contact Us Today!

This tick season, protect your family and secure your property for bite-free fun with Mosquito Joe! Call us today at 1-855-275-2563 or contact us online for a free quote or to schedule professional tick control services. Because you and your family deserve to enjoy summer!

Have you ever wondered, How far can a tick jump? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Let’s dig into the cool facts about how ticks travel so you can be better protected from the nasty little suckers.

We make no bones about it; BUGS are our business. So we make it our business to know everything about bugs. To battle bugs effectively, we have to know the answer to all kinds of bug questions. Yes, we’re nerds when it comes to bugs.

Take the tick, for example. Ticks are pests that cause all kinds of problems for humans and pets that venture outdoors. The results of their bites can range from mild skin irritations to serious health consequences. There’s a ton more to know about ticks, but we’ll focus on a few questions that may have been “bugging” you for a while.

Now, we understand that most people don’t think about ticks like we do, at least not until they become a problem. But there are a few tick questions we get quite often, one of the most common being: How far can a tick jump? This is actually more of a trick question than a tick question.

Despite being outfitted with four pairs of legs, adult ticks don’t jump at all. Each leg is covered with short, spiny hairs and ends in a couple of tiny, curved claws. Between the two claws is a small, sticky pad. The hairs, claws, and sticky pads are all designed to assist the tick in locating, grasping, and crawling onto its host — no jumping required. And it’s wired to crawl upwards once it does attach.

Unlike the enormously strong flea legs, a tick’s legs are not geared for locomotion so much as for grasping. They seem to get around quite a bit, so people often ask, “Can ticks jump and fly?” No, they can’t jump, and ticks don’t have wings, so they can’t fly either. They are essentially grounded, but not in a good way! Living close to the ground doesn’t mean ticks can’t move up in the world. They still manage to get around quite well.

So, how fast do ticks move? On their own, not very fast. If they were a vehicle, they would be a tractor, slow and plodding. But they are skilled at utilizing other means of transportation. Our response to the question “Do ticks jump or fly?” is that they don’t need to. They have found more efficient ways to get around, much to our disadvantage.

How Ticks Move in Nature

So, if ticks do not fly or jump, how do they reach your property? How do ticks travel? A tick’s primary mode of travel is on the host whose blood it feeds on. This could be an animal, a human, or both. Ticks are not too picky when it comes to transportation; they’ll take the first ride that comes along.

In the wild, a tick climbs to the top of a plant or a long blade of grass to search for a host. This host-seeking behavior is called “questing.” While holding the plant with its third and fourth pair of legs, the tick stretches out its first pair of legs, waiting for an animal to approach. Ticks can feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and humans. Warm-blooded hosts are their favorite. With the slightest brush, a tick can grab on and instinctively crawl upwards toward the host’s head and ears, seeking thinner skin.

The tick grasps the host’s skin and cuts into it with its claws. During this process, the tick also secretes a numbing agent within its saliva that helps its bite go undetected. Then it inserts a barbed feeding tube, and the blood buffet is open. An adult tick can remain attached, feeding, for a week to 10 days. During that time, the host continues daily life and may transport the tick several miles. Once sated, the tick releases its hold and drops off its host. Soon, it will again climb to the top of another plant to resume questing.

How Ticks Get on Humans

The most common way a tick finds a human host is through questing. This is the host-seeking behavior where the tick crawls to the top of a plant or grass stem to wait with its forelegs outstretched. When a human brushes against the undergrowth, the tick grabs on and then crawls to a preferred site to attach and feed. Sometimes, ticks wind up on tree leaves, branches, and shrubs. Although it’s more common to find ticks in low-lying areas, this is not always the case. The second most common way ticks find human hosts is through their pets. If your dog or cat is bitten, the tick may drop off in your home or yard. That proximity makes you a more likely target when the tick resumes questing. This is why it’s a good practice to inspect your pet for ticks after spending time outdoors, especially during spring and summer.

Preventing Tick Bites

The most important step to preventing tick-borne disease is learning all about tick bites and how to find them. Then, you can take essential steps for tick bite prevention. These steps include avoiding typical tick habitats like wooded and grassy areas when possible. When out hiking or walking, try to stay on designated or established pathways to avoid encountering ticks. You’ll also learn the ways to help limit ticks on your property. When walking where ticks are likely to be, wear long sleeves and pants in light colors. While ticks cannot jump or fly, they are excellent at hitchhiking a ride and will cling on if you brush past their perch. Covering your skin makes it harder for ticks to attach and start feeding, and the light clothing makes the tiny pests easier to spot.

You won’t feel a tick bite (because they anesthetize the skin before biting), so vigilance is key to remaining healthy and free of tick-borne diseases. Despite all the tick-avoidance precautions you can take, it is critical that you examine your pets, kids, and yourself for ticks when returning home from the outdoors. Showering is an excellent way to rinse away any ticks that are not yet attached. Unfortunately, washing your clothing won’t kick ticks; you’ll also have to toss them into the dryer and run it on high heat for 10 minutes to kill any tick adults or larvae. If you get bitten, properly removing the tick is essential to avoid the diseases they spread.

The Importance of Tick Testing

Testing is important if you, a family member, or a pet gets bitten by a tick. Tick testing will let you know what diseases the tick is carrying. It will not determine whether you were infected, but it alerts you to whether you need to consider treatment. Your doctor will advise you on potential treatment after receiving the test results.

When removing a tick, take care not to crush it. Instead, seal it in an airtight container or wrap it in tape. Make a note of the date of the tick bite, where on your body you were bitten, and the approximate location where you encountered the tick. Some people, especially those with a compromised immune system, prefer to test immediately. Others save the tick(s) for testing if they develop symptoms.

Protect Yourself and Your Family From Tick Bites

Although ticks do not fly or jump, they represent a health hazard for you, your family, and your pets. Ticks that carry various diseases are becoming more plentiful as development further encroaches on their natural habitat and more areas experience warmer seasonal temperatures. Therefore, it is critical that you take steps to protect yourself from these bloodsucking, disease-carrying pests.

In addition to these precautions, employing professional tick control services by your local Mosquito Joe is essential to limiting exposure to ticks around your home. We provide effective tick control as part of our comprehensive pest control services. All our work is backed by the Neighborly Done Right Promise™ and our Mosquito Joe® Satisfaction Guarantee, so you can count on excellent results. We come out to your property, tailoring our service to your specific needs. Discover effective, professional tick control near you. We have locations across the country. Our reliable pest control service is trusted by thousands of homeowners and businesses across the U.S.

Don’t let ticks keep you from exploring the great outdoors. Request a free quote at the top of this page, or call us today at 1-855-275-2563. You deserve to enjoy your outdoor spaces without worrying about tick bites. Let Mosquito Joe make the outdoors fun again.

Invasive bugs are a huge problem in the United States. According to Entomology Today, the economic impact of invasive insects is more than $30 billion each year. These pests can degrade, change, or even displace native habitats and cause all kinds of disruptions for other wildlife.

And when it comes to you and your yard, invasive bugs are a big inconvenience. While some invasive insects like stinkbugs are harmless, they can end up everywhere­—including your underwear drawer! Other invasive bugs, like termites, could do real damage to your home. Any kind of invasive insect is a nuisance. By learning more about them, you can better take control of your space.

Common Types of Invasive Bugs

These are some of the most common invasive insects in North America:

• Several types of moths, like the leek moth and cactus moth
• Wooly adelgids
• Asian tiger mosquitoes
• Several types of fruit flies, black flies, and sawflies
• Termites
• Earwigs
• Stinkbugs
• Mealybugs
• Spotted Lantern Flies

There are so many other invasive bugs in the states, including many types of beetles, borers, scale bugs, wasps, flies and ants. It’s worth researching an insect if it seems to be destroying plants and trees on your property, or your house.

Wait … Are Mosquitoes Invasive?

When you’re thinking of bugs that are a nuisance, mosquitoes are probably the first ones to jump to mind. But are mosquitoes invasive? Actually, yes, there are species of invasive mosquitoes. The Asian tiger mosquito and the yellow fever mosquito are both examples of invasive mosquitoes that have snuck into North America in hiding spots like used car tires. Typically, these types of invasive mosquitoes prefer warmer areas like southern California.

The mosquitoes that most US households deal with are the Aedes mosquito, the Anopheles mosquito, and the Culex mosquito. Since an invasive bug is defined as a species that was introduced to an area where they don’t naturally occur, these mosquitoes are not technically invasive. But they sure are annoying!

Related Topic: Preventing and Eliminating a Basement Insect Problem

Tick Invasion: What to Look For

While it’s normal to find a tick from time to time while you’re outside, finding them consistently could point to a problem. Ticks are tiny, parasitic bugs that generally live in wooded areas and fields. They need human or animal blood to survive and can be carriers of serious diseases, like Lyme disease. When you suspect you have a tick invasion (because they are frequently showing up on you or your pets), act fast so they don’t get inside of your house, where they could survive for a while. An effective way to get rid of these creepy creatures is to have your yard professionally sprayed for ticks during their most active months. You can also keep your grass and trees trimmed and try to weed your garden regularly to deter ticks.

While ticks often burrow under hair before biting their victims, they also attach themselves to other areas of the body, like:

• Under the knees
• Under the arms
• The groin area
• Inside or around the ears
• Inside the belly button
• The base of the neck

During tick season, which is any time of year when temperatures stay above 45 degrees Fahrenheit, be sure to check these areas on yourself and your kids. And don’t forget to check your pets regularly too!

Professional Invasive Species Control

As a homeowner, there isn’t much you can do to prevent invasive insects from migrating to your area. What you can do is prevent them from taking up residence in your own backyard and jeopardizing the safety of you and your family. At Mosquito Joe, our mission is to help homeowners take back the outdoors. Our traditional and natural barrier sprays effectively keep pests away for up to thirty days, which can make the time you and your family spend outdoor fun again! To learn more, or to get started, give us a call at 1-855-275-2563or request an estimate online today.

With Thanksgiving approaching, you may be thinking more about turkeys than you normally do. And all this thinking about turkeys may have you wondering, “do turkeys eat ticks?”. You can’t find anything about the topic on social media and none of your friends seems to know for sure. Well, don’t worry, we have the answer. 

The answer to this burning question is, YES! Turkeys do eat ticks! Their sharp eyesight and acute hearing make them talented tick gobblers. Both domesticated turkeys and all five subspecies of wild turkeys in the U.S. eat ticks and a cornucopia of other problematic insects. For that, we are truly thankful.  

Learn just what a turkey can do with their practiced pecks.  

How Many Ticks Do Turkeys Eat in One Day?  

A single, full-grown turkey can consume 200 or more ticks per day, under the right conditions. A female turkey can raise a clutch of 4 to 17 poults every year, which means after one year of reproduction, her turkey family (two generations, including her and her mate) could eat up to 3,800 ticks per day, altogether. That’s way more ticks than most other birds consume. All of this gobbling up of ticks helps keep the population from getting too out of control, which can help reduce the spread of tick-borne diseases. 

Can wild turkeys control the tick population?  

Wild turkeys can be beneficial because they eat ticks that are on the ground, in the grass, in low vegetation and even ones on their own bodies during self-grooming. Even though these birds are also tick hosts (i.e., ticks latch onto them), they tend to eliminate more ticks than they spread.  

Turkeys also eat other bugs, mollusks, and small creatures that can be irritating to humans and/or harmful to gardens. These include slugs, stink bugs, grasshoppers, snails, beetles, caterpillars, and small snakes. They also eat praying mantises, which are tick-eaters themselves—but turkeys are better at tick control than any bug ever could be (sorry, praying mantises). 

If you’re interested in attracting wild turkeys to your property, there are several ways to do it. For example, you can create areas for dust baths, scatter food (like cracked corn) on the ground, and create protected nesting sites. Just keep in mind that turkeys will undoubtedly gobble up all your birdseed in the process. They can even be aggressive during mating season.  

Related Topic: Control by Predators: What Animals Eat Ticks?  

Other Birds That Eat Ticks  

All this talking turkey may have you wondering if there are any other birds that eat ticks? Yes, many!  

Here are some other feathered friends known for having ticks on their menu:  

• Chickens   
• Guinea fowl 
• Peafowl 
• Ducks  
• Quails 

• Partridges 
• Woodpeckers 
• Egrets 
• Oxpecker (endemic to Africa) 
    

These birds are known to seek out ticks as a favored food source. They could be considered true tick predators—especially the oxpecker!  

However, there are many other birds that eat ticks less frequently. Many will eat a tick if they come across one when foraging, so they are not considered true tick predators, like the turkey. Numerous ground-dwelling birds, including smaller songbirds, also fit this description.  

The Battle Against Tick-Borne Illnesses 

Although turkeys and other birds certainly do their part to control the tick population in many areas, they can’t be counted on to do it all. And with tick populations—as well as Lyme disease cases—increasing in many areas of the country due to climate change, it is important to take the job of tick control into your own hands.  

The pros at Mosquito Joe are experts when it comes to controlling pest populations like mosquitoes and ticks. We provide top-notch tick control services that help protect you, your family, and your pets from ticks and Lyme disease. To learn more about our natural barrier sprays or to schedule an appointment call, 1-855-275-2563, or visit us online today!