Ticks

Ticks are small, blood-sucking bugs. They can range in size from as small as a pin’s head to as large as a pencil eraser. As they take in more blood, they grow. They range in color from brown to reddish brown and black.

Some Ticks carry diseases, like Lyme Disease, which can be passed on when they bite.

See more about Ticks below.

Preventing Tick Bites

Apply a repellent to your skin and clothing, like Repel Insect Repellent Aerosol with 40% DEET, before you will go spend some time outdoors where Ticks can be active. 

Protect Your Property

We have a verity of insecticides which can be used on your lawn, bushes etc. to kill and keep Ticks out of your property.

There is a great insecticide granular, TALSTAR PL GRANULAR, Which should be spread on your lawn, with extra focus on shaded areas etc. Talstar PL releases chemical over time as it rains or being watered in. It will control the Ticks in their larvae stage (which are mostly at the lower level of the grass), as well as a lot of other pests like Ants, Spiders, and more. 

A great option of a Natural Concentrate insecticide is EcoVia MT Mosquito and Tick Control. This will control Ticks in 'all their stages'. EcoVia MT should be mixed with water in a sprayer like the 1 Gallon Plastic Sprayer or the Chapin 1.5 Qt Pump Sprayer and should be sprayed on your lawn, with extra focus on shaded areas etc. as well as on the foundation of the structure. 

For bigger areas could be helpful to use the FlowZone Typhoon 4-Gallon Battery Powered Sprayer which will make the application quick and easy, with no pumping necessary. 

A great 'Ready-To-UseNatural insecticide would be the Nature-Cide Outdoor Insecticide-Repellent, which is 100% natural and will effectively kill and repel the Ticks and any outdoor pests around the home, lawn, shrubs and bushes. It will prevent any insects from returning to your property. It is a ready-to-use spray, in a spray bottle, for easy application.

Click here to see our full collection of Tick Control Products.

Experiencing A Tick Bite

When a Tick gets on a body, it will seek the warm, moist areas of the body. It will likely move to the armpits or hair. When they’re in a desirable spot, they bite into the skin and begin drawing blood.

Ticks typically remain attached to the body after they bite until they are full. Depending in its species and life stage it will remain attached and feeding for between 3 to 10 days. Once it is full, it will detach itself and fall off. 

How to Remove a Tick:

Using tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible. Gently pull the tick in a steady, upward motion. Once it is out, wash the area with a disinfectant.

DO NOT squeeze the body of the tick as this may increase your risk of infection.

DO NOT put alcohol, nail polish remover, or Vaseline on the tick.

DO NOT use your fingers to remove the tick.

These methods do not work and only increase the likelihood the tick will transmit Lyme disease to you.  

While removing the tick, if the tick's mouthparts break off and remain in your skin, don't worry. The mouthparts alone cannot transmit Lyme disease. It will dry up and fall out by themselves in a few days, or you can remove them as you would a splinter. If most of the head is left, call your doctor for help.

After cleaning the area, watch the site of the bite for the appearance of a rash 3 to 30 days after the bite. Rashes smaller than the size of a quarter are usually a reaction to the bite itself and do not mean you have any disease. If the rash expands to several inches in size or you develop flu-like symptoms, contact your health care provider immediately.

Ticks Life Cycle:

A Tick passes through four life stages (egg, larva, nymph, adult), over a two-year period. See pic.

ticks life bug clinic

 Egg To Larvae

Eggs are deposited in leaf litter in spring. They emerge as larvae in late summer, seeking their first blood meal. 

The tiny larva has only six legs and crawls around the forest floor and onto low-lying grass and plantings looking for a host. Their first host is generally a mouse or other medium-sized mammal or bird. Once attached, the larvae insert firmly and deeply their mouth-parts and feed for several days. The larvae then drop back into leaf litter where they molt into the next stage

If the first host is infected with a disease such as Lyme, the tick may become infected during this feeding. 

 Second Stage - The Nymph

A nymph looks like a miniature tick and now has 8 legs. They are tiny – like a poppy seed - and are hard to spot them. They remain inactive until the following spring.

During the next spring and early summer they seek a host (mouse, deer, bird, or human). After feeding for several days the nymph ticks drop off again to the forest floor.

The majority of Lyme disease cases are transmitted by nymphal deer ticks. Most cases of Lyme disease are reported from May through August, - the peak activity period for nymphs. 

 Nymph to Adult

Over the next few months, the nymph molts into the larger adult tick, which emerges in October through November. Adult ticks wait for host animals/humans on tips of grass and shrubs 2-3 ft. above ground. When an animal or person comes in contact with the grass etc., they quickly climb onto the host. Adult ticks feed on their host for five to seven days. 

If this tick has Lyme Disease (usually from their first feeding on the Mouse etc. while being in the larvae or nymph stage) they will transmit the disease to their human host while feeding as an adult.

The adult females lay eggs sometime after feeding. She will become engorged (swollen) with blood, providing nourishment for her developing eggs. Once she is full of blood, she drops into the leaf litter where she lays thousands of eggs.

Feel Free To Contact Us

If you have any questions, or need some guidance and advice selecting the right product from our tick control products, don't hesitate to contact us.