A walk in the woods can be a pleasant reprieve but can also invite some unwanted hitchhikers. Ticks can latch onto exposed skin, move from clothing onto the skin, and even tag a ride on your four-legged friends. Ticks can also be transmitters of illnesses such as Lyme disease.

Don’t let these pests prevent you and your family from enjoying the outdoors!

Taking the necessary measures is important for those living in areas with significant tick populations and the presence of tick-borne diseases. Learn how to prevent ticks and reclaim your outdoor exploration with these tick prevention tips from Mosquito Joe.

How to Prevent Tick Bites

Don’t let ticks put a damper on your outdoor plans! By following proper precautions to prevent and repel ticks you can enjoy your favorite outside activities tick- and care-free.

Here are our best tips for how to prevent tick bites:
Use Tick Repellent

• Employing an insect repellent is a great preventative step toward both ticks and mosquitoes. Apply a trusted repellent topically and on clothing to prevent mosquito bites and keep ticks off your body. Be sure the repellent you’re using is effective on ticks, as many repellents are mosquito specific.

Go Lightly

• Mix one tablespoon of baking soda with enough water to form a paste. Apply to the bite and then wash off the mixture after 10 minutes.

Cool it Down

• Wearing pants and long-sleeve shirts reduces the amount of exposed skin. This provides less area for a tick to latch onto, and decreases your chances of bringing one home. Opting for light-colored clothing helps you more easily spot any tick stowaways before heading back inside.

Tuck It

• Tucking pant legs into socks creates a seamless length of protection down to your feet to prevent exposed ankles or from having ticks climb up open pant legs. Plus, it’s the most stylish look around for enjoying the outdoors in areas with ticks!

Down the Middle

• When you’re out for a hike, consider walking down the middle of the hiking trail rather than the edges. This practice lowers your exposure to tall grasses, where ticks are often lurking and waiting for the perfect host to pass by. Challenge your kids to a fun game of staying away from the edges of the trail as a way to encourage this behavior from them too!

Pat Down

• Upon completing your outdoor excursion, check yourself, your family, and your pets for ticks. For humans, start from the head down, checking hair, ears, underarms, waist, thighs, and inner knee. For furry friends, start at the snout, check ears, around collars, under legs, and under their tail.

Go Pro

• If you’re looking to take a more proactive step to keep ticks at bay while in your own yard, Mosquito Joe can help. For tick prevention close to home, developing a management plan, or having your yard professionally treated is the way to go.

Take back your yard and let the whole family spend time outside without worry. Get in touch with the professionals at Mosquito Joe today to learn more about your options. Give us a call at 1-855-275-2563 or request a quote online.

Understanding the Threat of Lone Star Tick Disease

Spring and summer typically bring more time spent enjoying the great outdoors but also increased concerns about potentially dangerous ticks. Lone star ticks, in particular, have become an intriguing species due to their ability to transmit ehrlichiosis—an illness that can create an allergy to red meat.

It almost sounds like a disease from a sci-fi movie, but this threat is not a figment of the imagination. Should you be concerned?

The experts at Mosquito Joe are here to answer your questions about lone star tick disease, including where these ticks are found and what is up with that dreadful meat allergy.

Where Are Lone Star Ticks Found?

Until recently, people outside of the southern parts of the United States didn’t have to worry about lone star tick disease. However, as the tick species has been spreading north, you now need to watch out for them in the entire eastern half of the United States—from Texas to Iowa and all the way east to the east coast. While the lone star ticks have shown up in areas as far north as Maine, they are still more common in southern states.

You will be able to identify a lone star tick by its silver-white dot—or “lone star”—located on the dorsal shield of females. Adult lone star ticks have a round, reddish-brown body and long, thin mouthparts.

Lone Star Tick Disease: Ehrlichiosis

Lone star ticks transmit bacteria that may lead to several different types of illnesses but the most well known and common is ehrlichiosis. This bacterial illness causes flu-like symptoms ranging from mild body aches and fatigue to high fever and vomiting. Perhaps the most notorious symptom is when the bitten individual develops an allergy to red meat (beef and pork).

While the meat allergy does not happen to every person who is bitten by a lone star tick, it is common enough to be cause for concern.

How does this bizarre allergic reaction develop? When the lone star tick bites a human after feeding on other mammals, the victim can experience an immune system response to the tick’s saliva molecules. Doctors say it can take anywhere from two weeks to three months after a lone star tick bite to experience this bizarre allergic reaction.

How Likely Are You to Contract Ehrlichiosis?

As the lone star tick species continues to expand its geographic footprint, many people living in the eastern half of the U.S. want to know what the risk is for contracting ehrlichiosis or developing the lone star tick meat allergy. Research reveals that a lone star tick is less likely to carry ehrlichiosis than a deer tick (also known as a blacklegged tick) is to carry Lyme disease. So not everyone who is bitten by a lone star tick will develop the red meat allergy.

The risk may not be high enough to warrant alarm. Still, it’s important to note that the lone star tick is the most aggressive tick species. It’s possible to experience multiple bites if you find yourself in their habitat.

Protect Yourself and Your Family with Tick Control Services

Checking for ticks regularly and being aware of the risk of tick-borne illnesses is important, but there’s more you can do to minimize exposure to the lone star tick disease

Let the team of experts at your local Mosquito Joe help you to combat any tick species in your area with our reliable tick control services.

We are dedicated to using the best prevention and barrier methods to serve as a strong line of defense against tick-borne illnesses. Call us at 1-855-275-2563 or contact us online to schedule professional tick control services.

Romping through the fields, roaming the woods, barreling through the bushes, your pup is an explorer! But all that running through the tall grass can attract some unwanted passengers—ticks!

It’s important to check your dog and other outdoor-going pets for ticks on a regular basis. But what is the most thorough way to search for these pesky parasites?
Let the insect experts at Mosquito Joe offer some tips on how to check your dog for ticks!

When to Check Dog for Ticks

How often you check your dog for ticks can change depending on where you live, how present ticks are in the environments you frequent, and how often you’re outside with your pet.

Tall grass, woods, and fields can all be breeding grounds for ticks and likely places for them to hitch a ride on your hound. If you live in an area with a significant tick population, your dog should be checked daily. If ticks are less present where you spend time day to day, focus on checking your dog after hikes or time spent where ticks could be present.

How to Check Dog for Ticks

Ticks can be found in your dog’s fur before they have attached themselves or may feel like a small bump on the skin once they’ve bitten the dog. The best method for checking for ticks is carefully combing through your dogs’ fur and feeling the skin for bumps.
Keep your furry friend fiend-free by following these steps for how to check your dog for ticks …

Head start

Begin at the snout of your dog and, using your fingers like a comb, run your hands over the head and around the neck. Pay special attention to the ears and around the collar.

Body work

Make a thorough search of your pet’s entire body, combing with your fingers. If your dog has thick or extra shaggy fur, take the time to really comb through his or her coat.

Nooks and crannies

Be sure to evaluate any dark or hard-to-reach areas. Check the groin, under the front legs (armpits), under the tail, and in the ears.

Bug be gone

If you do happen across a tick on your dog’s skin, resist the urge to immediately pull it out. Use tweezers or a tick removal tool and pull it out slow and gradually. Place the tick in rubbing alcohol to kill it.

Kick the Ticks

The best way to keep pests at bay is to be proactive! Check your dog for ticks, especially after being outdoors and be thorough in your search and give your dog a leg up by using flea and tick medication to help repel parasites.

Finally, making your space tick-free can be the ultimate pest preventative! Call Mosquito Joe today at 1-855-275-2563 or request a quote online to make your backyard tick-free and your pets carefree!

Mosquito Joe provides mosquito, tick and flea control treatment to residential and commercial customers across the country. We ensure outside is fun again for our customers’ families and pets by eliminating swatting and scratching. We can all agree that our four-legged friends are near and dear to our hearts so we want to make sure they can enjoy the backyard with their favorite humans without avoiding any health risks or concerns. While we certainly make customers’ yards itch-free with our mosquito barrier treatment, this same service also effectively rids the property of ticks and fleas. This is important for our furry friends as ticks carry Lyme disease, the most commonly reported vector-borne illness in the United States.

Transmitted through tick bites, the disease can be difficult to detect and can cause serious and recurring health problems for our pets. Deer ticks, carriers of Lyme disease, are found in forests or grassy, wooded, marshy areas near rivers, lakes or oceans. People or animals may be bitten by deer ticks during outdoor activities such as hiking, camping or while spending time in their backyards. It’s best to be proactive in preventing infection by taking appropriate measures to prevent tick bites, and for dogs, that means vaccinating against the disease. Always remember to ask your local veterinarians office to establish a monthly treatment program.

How to Prevent Lyme Disease

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, “The best way to protect pets from Lyme disease is to take preventive measures to reduce the chance of contracting the disease. Even during the last few weeks of summer, it’s important to remember that pets and people are at greater risk of being infected with Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases such as anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, or Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.” Here are a few additional tips to prevent ticks in your backyard:

• Avoid wooded and tall grassy areas where tick activity is high.
• Keep your grass cut short and bushes and trees trimmed.
• Remove wood piles from the home.
• Move swing sets, sandboxes and other play areas away from wooded areas.
• Upon returning inside your home after enjoying time outdoors, always check yourself, your children and your pets for ticks. Wash clothing immediately.
• Use tick-preventative products – check with your veterinarian to find the right products for your pets.
• Protect your property with a Mosquito Joe barrier treatment so your furry friends can roam your yard worry-free. Our long-lasting treatment works up to 21 days and protects your family and pets from mosquitoes, ticks and fleas.

Symptom in Pets

Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria can travel to different parts of the body and cause problems in specific organs or locations, such as joints, as well as overall illness. Other symptoms include:

• Fever
• Loss of appetite
• Reduced energy
• Stiffness, discomfort or pain
• Swelling of joints

If you see that your dog is experiencing any of these symptoms, it is important to take them to the veterinarian so they can be tested and treated for Lyme disease.

How are Dogs Tested and Treated?

Once you arrive at the veterinarian, you will need to give a thorough history of your dog’s health and any symptoms they are having. Your veterinarian will run the necessary tests to determine what illness your pet has.  According to the American Kennel Club, “The two blood tests used for Lyme disease testing are called C6 and Quant C6, which can both be performed by your local veterinarian’s office. The C6 antibodies can be detected three to five weeks after an infected tick bites your pet. The next step would be the Quant C6, along with urinalysis to help determine if antibiotics are necessary.”

If the diagnosis is Lyme disease, your dog will be treated as an outpatient and given antibiotics for at least four weeks.

Did you know that ticks will arrive before mosquitoes and hang around after the mosquitoes are gone? Ticks arrive once ground temperature is above 45 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s important to have a plan in place in advance, and to follow through during the fall.  Mosquito Joe ensures families and their pets are protected from mosquitoes, ticks and fleas. Don’t get ticked off this year – give your local office a call today to get on the schedule.

With the April showers behind us and May flowers starting to bloom, warm weather is finally here! With warmer weather brings more outdoor activities, as well as the possibility of a tick bite. May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month and Mosquito Joe is joining the fight to protect families and furry friends from this tick-borne illness.

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease was first detected in 1976 in Lyme, Connecticut and most commonly occurs in the Northeast, upper Midwest and mid-Atlantic regions. It is estimated that about 300,000 people are diagnosed each year.  Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. In most cases, the tick must be attached for 36 to 48 hours or more before the Lyme disease bacterium can be transmitted.

Signs and Symptoms

Early symptoms of Lyme disease usually begin from 3 to 30 days after being bitten by an infected tick. The most common early stage symptom is a rash where the tick was attached. This rash starts as a small red area that spreads outward to look like a bullseye. One may also experience flu-like symptoms, such as headache, fever, sore and aching muscles and joints, stiff neck, fatigue and swollen glands.

If you experience any of the following symptoms and have had a tick bite, it is important to seek medical attention. Untreated Lyme disease can produce a wide range of symptoms, depending on the stage of infection. Some of these symptoms may include fever, facial paralysis and arthritis.

Treatment

If you develop any of the above symptoms within several weeks of removing a tick, it’s important that you see your healthcare provider. When Lyme disease is diagnosed in the early stages, people usually recover rapidly and completely. In order to be treated, you will be given antibiotics by your healthcare provider, which most commonly are doxycycline, amoxicillin or cefuroxime axetil.

However, you can get Lyme disease again if you are bitten by another infected tick, so it is important to protect yourself from tick bites.

Preventing Tick Bites

Although it’s not possible to completely protect yourself from getting a tick bite, there are steps you can take to reduce your chances. Tick activity is higher during the warmer months, but ticks can be out anytime the temperature is about 45 degrees Fahrenheit. With the help from Mosquito Joe, you can get ahead of any tick problems you might have this season, while also implementing the following habits:

• Keep grass short and underbrush thinned at your home.
• Move wood piles away from the home.
• Wear light-colored clothes to help you spot ticks easily.
• Check your body for ticks and shower within two hours of being outdoors.
• Move swing sets, sandboxes and other play areas to avoid tick bites.
• Keep pets out of thickly wooded areas where tick activity is high and talk to your veterinarian about tick control options.
• Let Mosquito Joe be your second line of deference for these intruders by getting a barrier spray that rids your yards for mosquitoes, fleas and ticks.

When you come in from the outdoors, always do a thorough check on yourself, your family and your pets. When doing a tick check, remember that ticks liked places that are warm, so make sure you check the back of your armpits, scalp, back of the neck and behind the ears.

But what if I do get a tick bite?

If you do find a tick on you or your family, there’s no need to panic! The key is to remove the tick as soon as possible. There are several tick removal devices on the market, but fine-tipped tweezers also work great. Follow the below steps on removing a tick:

1. Use fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause the mouth-parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this does happen, remove the mouth-parts with tweezers. If you are unable to do so, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
4. Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by putting it in alcohol, placing it in a sealed bag/container, wrapping it tightly in tape, or flushing it down the toilet.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/removing_a_tick.html

Don’t be ticked off this summer

Let Mosquito Joe be another line of defense against tick-borne illnesses by applying a barrier treatment to your property. A trained and certified technician will treat your yard with an effective solution that eliminates mosquitoes, ticks and fleas for 21 days. As an alternative to our longer-lasting synthetic treatment, our all-natural solution repels mosquitoes immediately. This less-adhesive yet effective option requires treatment on a 14-day cycle.

If you’re still not sure if Mosquito Joe is right for you, give your local MoJo a call or request a free quote online. We are dedicated to making outside fun again for you and your family and our job is not done until you are happy!