Category Archives: Tick Control

There are nearly one million positive cases of Lyme disease in dogs every year. Lyme disease is transmitted through bacteria from a tick bite, which your dog could get in grassy or wooded areas. If Lyme disease is untreated, it can lead to damage to the kidneys, nervous system, and heart, and can even be fatal.

So, pet owners go to great lengths to prevent tick bites on their dogs. For many dogs, the ideal topical tick preventative may be the synthetic, topical formula recommended by veterinarians. It contains fipronil, a powerful chemical used to kill adult fleas and ticks on animal fur. But just like people, some dogs have very sensitive skin. So, those harsher chemical tick repellents can cause itching, irritation, and even skin lesions on pets. For this reason, many dog owners choose to use gentler, natural products. But which options work?

Related Topic: What to Do If a Tick Head Is Stuck in Your Skin

Four Natural Tick Repellents for Dogs

Don’t forget to consult your veterinarian before using any of these products on your pet. They may suggest testing a product on a small portion of your dog’s skin before using it all over.

1. Store-Bought Formulas: There are many pre-mixed natural tick repellents for dogs on the market, all with differing ingredients. Many of these contain essential oils. Be sure to read the instructions, as some products may require dilution before you apply them to your pet.
2. Homemade Essential Oil Tick Repellent for Dogs: Essential oil tick repellent for dogs is also a popular choice of pet owners looking to keep their dogs protected in the warmer months. The essential oil commonly used to repel ticks on dogs is lavender oil. It has a sweet, calming scent that is attractive to humans and dogs but loathed by bugs like fleas and ticks. Amazingly, lavender oil also prevents tick eggs from hatching. You may have heard that lemongrass is a good tick repellent for dogs, but it could upset your dog’s stomach if they licked it, so it’s generally not recommended as a topical treatment.
3. Natural Tick Spray for Your Yard: One of the best ways to prevent ticks on your dogs—and on your other family members—is to keep ticks from coming to your yard in the first place. Mosquito Joe can help with that! Using our natural tick treatment on strategic areas of your yard, we’ll make sure no pesky ticks can bother your fur babies.
4. Reduction of Tick Habitat: Eliminate tick breeding grounds in your garden and lawn by cleaning up debris they might hide in. Mosquito Joe will provide some guidance for this if you’re already having us spray for ticks outside.

So, those are the four major ways to repel ticks that might bother your pets. Here are more details about the homemade option.

How to Make Your Own Tick Repellent

You may think a DIY tick repellent for dogs would be tricky, but it’s quite easy to make your own! Here’s a method you can try at home with the approval of your veterinarian:

• Thinly slice a lemon into a large glass jar.
• Boil a quart of water, and slowly pour it over the sliced lemon. Let the mixture steep overnight.
• Strain the lemon water into a glass spray bottle, filling it about half-full. Save any remaining water for later.
• Add 1 cup of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
• Add ten drops of lavender oil. Shake it up and put it in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.
• To use it, lightly spray the mixture on your dog’s fur, using your hand to work it in. Avoid spraying it around your pet’s eyes and mouth. Apply the spray every two hours when your dog is outside.

Pull Out All the Stops to Keep Ticks Away

Your dog is a member of the family, and you want to protect your whole family from ticks. While you might try any of these natural methods for tick repellent, the most effective plan is to use a combination of all these things: a topical (vet-approved) treatment, a professional yard treatment, and tick habitat removal. You can trust Mosquito Joe for professional yard treatment and advice about habitat removal. We’re experienced and equipped with a proprietary, all-natural formula that works for weeks. To get started, give us a call at 1-855-275-2563 or request a quote online.

First, try not to panic. The head itself, after it’s been broken off, cannot transmit disease, and a broken-off tick can usually be removed easily.

Start by washing your hands and then cleaning the area around the tick bite with rubbing alcohol and a cotton swab.

After you’ve cleaned your skin, here’s how to remove a tick head:

1. Grasp the tick head with sterile, fine-tipped tweezers.
2. Firmly pull the tick head straight out, not at an angle.
3. If you couldn’t remove it with tweezers, sterilize a needle with rubbing alcohol.
4. Use the needle to gently widen the hole where the head is embedded.
5. Use the tweezers again to pull the head out.

You don’t need to save the tick head for disease testing, as the body of the tick is all that’s necessary for a thorough test. However, if the tick’s body was attached to you for more than 24 hours, you should monitor for symptoms of Lyme disease for about a month.

So now you know how to get a tick head out, but what if you don’t notice that the head is there for a while?

What Happens If the Tick’s Head Stays in Your Skin?

If a tick head is stuck in human or animal skin for a prolonged period, the risk of tick-borne disease isn’t increased, but the risk of infection is. If you’re unable to remove the head yourself, ask your doctor to remove it for you as soon as possible.

Will a tick head eventually come out on its own? Usually, the answer is yes, but the body is unpredictable. Ultimately, you should never leave pieces of a tick on, or under, your skin.

Related Topic: What Percentage of Ticks Carry Lyme Disease?

How to Tell if a Tick Head Is Still in Your Skin

If a tick head is still in your skin, it should be visible to the naked eye. What does a tick head look like in the skin? It typically looks like a small, dark-colored fleck. It may look like a splinter if it’s just the tick’s mouthparts. For an additional sign of a tick head still being stuck, you may also inspect the tick’s body to see if it looks like pieces of the head broke off.

How Can You Prevent This From Happening Again?

Because ticks can carry numerous diseases, including Lyme, most people want to stay as far away from them as possible. But their populations are high, they’re resistant to cold, and they’re very good at finding a host.

What are the best ways to make sure that that host isn’t you or a loved one?

• Wear protective clothing when you’re outside.
• Check for ticks after being outdoors (especially when in high grass or wooded areas).
• Keep landscaping well maintained (shrubs trimmed and grass mowed).

Mosquito Joe offers a range of tick exterminator services from proven barrier spray treatments to our natural formulas that can help minimize the risk of exposure to ticks around the perimeter of your home. To learn more about the variety of services we offer, give us a call at 1-855-275-2563 or request a quote today!

As you may have read from previous articles, ticks are one tough insect. They can survive submerged in water for up to 72 hours (about 3 days), withstand extreme temperatures, and are almost impossible to crush. But what about washing them? Do ticks die in the washing machine? Will the combination of churning water and laundry detergent be enough to kill these resilient insects?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Ticks can outlast a sudsy journey through your washing machine, even the hot water cycle. A study from the U.S. Department of Agriculture found that most ticks survived nearly all combinations of temperature settings and detergent types (told ya, they are one tough bug). So, if a thorough wash and rinse cycle won’t kill them, what can you do to eliminate these potentially dangerous pests? Will any type of washing kill a tick? Here are some important things you should know about ticks.

Why Are Ticks So Dang Tough?

I think we can all agree—ticks are tough. Any insect capable of surviving a run through your washing machine is worthy of a ‘super bug’ title. Ticks can survive washing by sheltering in crevices and folds of your laundry. Because they trap oxygen from water in tiny, hydrophobic hairs on their bodies, some tick species can survive hours or even days submerged in freshwater.

In addition to escaping the washing machine in one piece, ticks can also survive indoors in carpets, too. These creepy crawlers are drought-resistant, cold tolerant, and can go months without a meal (it just keeps getting better).

Related Topic: Do Ticks Survive Water?

Can Ticks Survive Laundry—Including the Dryer?

It appears that ticks can make it through the washing machine alive, but what about the dryer? This depends on the cycle setting. While most ticks will die after tumbling around for 30 minutes or more at high heat, many can survive a “no heat” dryer cycle. Surprisingly, it’s not the heat that actually kills them—it’s the dryness. Ticks require moisture to survive and are more likely to die in very dry conditions, like those created inside a hot dryer.

How to Kill Ticks in Laundry with Certainty

Want to be certain you kill ticks in the laundry? Here are two simple steps to kill even the most resilient ticks hiding in your clothing:

• Place soiled clothing in the washing machine, and use the hottest water setting along with your regular detergent.
• After washing, immediately place the clothes in the dryer and dry for a minimum of sixty minutes on high heat.

Following these steps immediately after spending time in areas that are known to harbor ticks, will not only ensure your clothes are clean, but tick-free too. Even if your clothes are tick-free, it’s also important to do a thorough inspection of your body to make sure no ticks have latched on and begun feeding.

Related Topic: Where Are Lone Star Ticks Found?

Make Ticks Run for the Hills

There is no doubt that ticks are tough to kill. The best way to deal with ticks is to avoid them as much as possible. But if you enjoy the outdoors that’s not always easy, unless you call the pest control pros at Mosquito Joe. We offer tick control services that help eliminate even the toughest ticks on your property. To keep you and your family safe from ticks and all kinds of biting insects. Schedule online or call 1-855-275-2563 to connect with your local team.

Ticks can be a problematic insect that transmits the disease to both animals and humans. They are also resourceful, adaptable insects that can withstand temperature fluctuations and other environmental changes that would kill many other insects. But are ticks super insects? Are they capable of surviving the most extreme conditions, like being submerged in water for an extended period of time?

Its true ticks are amazing creatures who can survive being submerged in water for up to two or three days. But fortunately, they are not superbugs, even a tick will eventually drown.

So how can a tick, which is usually less than a 1/8 inch in size, survive underwater for what amounts to a weekend? There is a lot more to this tiny, almost unnoticed creature than meets the eye. We have compiled some interesting facts to help you better understand how this adaptable insect survives such extreme conditions.

Related Topic: How to Properly Remove a Tick

The Science Behind Ticks’ Underwater Survival Skills

One reason ticks can survive underwater for up to 72 hours is their plastron, an alternate respiratory system that allows them to breathe through air trapped on hairs on their body. As we just summarized, the main reason a tick can survive underwater for long periods is its ability to “breath the water.” Ticks have hydrophobic hairs on their body; this means that the little hairs don’t absorb water. Instead, the hairs carry a thin layer of oxygen from the water, which the tick “breathes” to stay alive while fully submerged.

Even a pool or an ocean won’t be enough to quickly drown a tick, as the concentrations of chlorine in pools and salt in oceans aren’t high enough to kill ticks. They will still be able to “breathe” in these bodies of water. To learn more, read this study from the Journal of Insect Physiology.

Do Ticks Like Water?

Because ticks can live for so long underwater, you’re probably asking yourself, “Can ticks swim?” Although it would be logical to assume they had figured out how to swim, ticks don’t swim. Their tiny legs and cumbersome bodies don’t allow for it. However, they do like being near water. This means if there’s standing water or your yard is saturated you might be harboring an inviting habitat for ticks.

The Trick to Drowning a Tick Quickly?

You’re probably wondering if anything can drown a tick quickly. The answer is yes. For example, after removing the tick from you or a pet you can drown it quickly by submerging it in rubbing alcohol. The problem with this method is that it requires the tick to be removed first. So, what if the tick is on your dog and you’re having a hard time catching your pet? Can you drown ticks on a dog? Unfortunately, you’ll need to remove the tick before killing it. You can use a tick removal tool, which can be purchased at most pet supply stores, or tweezers to remove the tick.

Related Topic: Think Your Pet Has Lyme Disease? Here’s What To Do

Can Ticks Survive in Hot Water?

By now you’ve probably come to the conclusion: ticks are resilient. As true as that statement is, ticks aren’t invincible, and there are a few non-chemical ways to kill them. Although ticks can survive in hot water, to an extent, once the water gets above 130°F, the tick’s chance of survival drops close to zero. If you suspect there’s a tick on your clothes, you could put them in a hot cycle in the washing machine (which might kill the tick), followed by a hot drying cycle (which should finish the job).

What About Ice and Snow?

As mentioned earlier, ticks are adaptable creatures capable of surviving extreme conditions. If a tick is adequately protected under a layer of leaf litter, it can survive icy precipitation and chilling temperatures for months at a time. And when things really get cold, they handle the harsh winter conditions by entering a hibernation-like state called diapause. Similar to animals and other insects this state of hibernation slows down all non-essential functions in order to conserve energy and maintain only the functions needed for survival.

Related Topic: What Percentage of Ticks Carry Lyme Disease?

Tackling Ticks in Your Yard

Ticks are true survivors, adaptable, and able to withstand extreme conditions, including being fully submerged in water for days. One of the best ways to deal with this resilient insect is to avoid areas where they thrive (high grassy and lightly traveled wooded areas). To minimize the risk of contact in and around your yard and property, call your local pest control pros from Mosquito Joe. Our barrier spray helps keep ticks and mosquitoes at bay for up to 21 days. We also offer natural pest control solutions and can even install a high-quality misting system that allows you and your family to enjoy your yard fully and freely. To learn more, give us a call at 1-855-275-2563, or visit us online today.

 
Did you know that all Lyme disease is transmitted via tick bite? And while ticks may not be able to jump or fly, they love to crawl around in the grass and shrubs where your pets play. In fact, five of the ten diseases that ticks transmit to humans can also be transmitted to pets. So, if your pet carries an infected tick into your home, you could end up getting bit and even infected with Lyme disease. With the transmission of Lyme disease on the rise, it’s vital to know how to identify and treat it if you suspect your pet is infected. We’ll also share some tips on how you can protect yourself and your pets from getting infected.  

 What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is an infectious tick-borne disease caused by the bacteria borrelia burgdorferi. It can be transmitted to both pets and humans through the bite of an infected black-legged tick, also known as a “deer tick.” These ticks are usually no bigger than a poppy seed, which makes them almost impossible to spot. Both dogs and cats can be infected with Lyme disease, but it’s more commonly found in dogs. Once bitten, the bacteria enters the skin, where it eventually makes its way into the bloodstream. From there, if left untreated, the bacteria can spread to the joints, the heart, and even the nervous system.  

Lyme disease is present throughout the United States, but it’s more common in the Northeast, upper Midwest, and Northwestern states. While it’s highly unlikely that you would pick up an infected tick walking on a busy city street in one of these areas, you may pick one up if you live or spend time in rural areas. Tallgrass and wooded locations, places your pets probably like to run and play, are the prime hangout for these disease-carrying insects. 

 Related Topics: How to Properly Check and Remove Ticks from Your Pets 

 Symptoms of Lyme Disease 

An infected tick needs to be attached for a minimum of 24-36 hours in order to transmit Lyme disease to your cat or dog. So just because your pet got bit by a tick doesn’t necessarily mean they have been infected with Lyme disease. This is why it’s so important to check your pet for ticks after they have spent time outdoors, especially if they have been in areas that have been identified as prime tick locations. If you routinely check your pet when they come in from outside and identify that they have been bitten, you can still safely remove the tick before any infection enters their body.  

If you suspect that your pet was bitten by a tick and has been infected with Lyme disease, keep an eye out for these symptoms: fever, lethargy, stiff or swollen joints, excessive salivation, decreased appetite, on and off lameness, and reduced energy. If left untreated, symptoms can progress to kidney failure or neurological damage. An untreated infection can also be fatal, so all infections should be taken seriously. In addition, a tick that is left untreated will eventually fall off its original host and can reinfect other pets or family members. 

 What to Do If You Suspect Lyme Disease 

Lyme disease is highly treatable if it’s discovered early enough. So, time is definitely of the essence when it comes to detection. However, problems can arise when a pet that has contracted Lyme disease doesn’t show symptoms. In many cases, obvious signs and symptoms of Lyme disease don’t appear until several months after the initial bite.  

If you discover a tick on your pet or suspect your pet has contracted Lyme disease, call your vet immediately. Your veterinarian will run the proper tests and begin administering antibiotics immediately to fight the disease. For dogs, the two blood tests for diagnosing Lyme disease are called the C6 Test and Quant C6 test. Your vet should be able to perform both. If your pet tests positive for Lyme disease, make sure all the other pets in your household are checked as well. With proper treatment, your pet should be feeling better and return to normal within 3-4 weeks, with few or no long-term effects!  

 Related Topics: What’s in Natural Mosquito Yard Sprays and Do They Really Work? 

 Prevention is Your Best Defense 

Although Lyme disease can be a scary situation for pet owners, there are some things you can do to protect yourself and your pets from exposure. The best protection is obviously to avoid getting bitten in the first place. However, pets like to roam and explore, and we can’t keep ourselves or our beloved pets in a bubble. So, the next best thing you can do to protect yourself and your pets is to be vigilant when it comes to ticks. Always examine your pets thoroughly for ticks after they have been outdoors. Try to keep your grass under 6” long. If necessary, mow it consistently so ticks will have a harder time hiding and taking up residence in areas where you and your pets spend time. Also, ticks are attached to areas that are overgrown with shrubs or that have wood or branches on the ground. So, keep any piles of wood you may store for a fireplace as far away from your home as possible. Some topical flea and tick collars, shampoos, and other over-the-counter products can be effective at keeping ticks off your pets for a limited amount of time. Just be sure to check that the label says it’s safe for your pets.  

One of the best ways to protect you, your family, and your pets from ticks this season is to call to Mosquito Joe. We offer another layer of protection against mosquitoes, ticks and flies that will help you stress less and enjoy more of the great outdoors. You can never be too cautious when it comes to protecting your pets and loved ones from ticks and tick-borne illnesses. Don’t forget to ask about our natural insect barrier treatment.