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When it comes to tick control and your family/pet’s health, the clock is tick-ing… As you’re traversing down the road less traveled with your four-four legged friend, letting them wander off the beaten path may cause them to pick up a few unwanted friends; and in the fashion of pests being pests, that one friend comes home with you, invites his friends and suddenly you have a really crappy house party that could actually endanger your health as well as your pets’ health. Nothing is more worrying to a pet owner than to find a blood engorged tick when giving a knowing pat on the head.
What are ticks and why should I worry about them? Ticks are tiny parasitic insects that live in shady, moist areas of dense brush. They don’t jump, scurry or even fly to reach their hosts, but rather simply fall or hitchhike onto skin, fur and clothing. And all silliness aside, the main reason to be concerned with ticks is that they carry diseases. Diseases that may incubate for a LONG TIME before you have anything to indicate it, so if you’ve found a tick on either your skin or on your pet, either head to a doctor or find a local pharmacy with ways to deal with the tick IMMEDIATELY. (24 hours is the main timeframe of Lyme disease transfer, so stop reading and go fix that!)
- American Dog Tick: The American Dog tick is the most encountered tick in Pennsylvania. It may be identified by white marks on its back as well as having the ability to engorge itself to the size of a grape. The American Dog Tick as its name suggests is frequently found on domestic dog species. However, it can also feed on other large animals such as cattle, coyotes, deer and most importantly humans.
- The American Dog Tick is a vector for a few dangerous diseases that can potentially be fatal to humans. Some diseases that American Dog Ticks have been known to cause are Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia and is able to cause Tick Paralysis. American Dog Ticks cannot carry the most common tick borne disease: Lyme disease.
- Black Legged Tick: The black legged tick (previously known as the deer tick) is a tick usually encountered in the eastern United States. These ticks are commonly encountered in brushy densely wooded areas. Hikers need to be especially weary of this species especially if they hike along wildlife trails. Black legged ticks are most active in the summer months and are capable of over-wintering in piles of leaves.
- The Black legged tick is a known carrier of some notable tick borne diseases. Babesiosis is a more mild disease associated with this specific form of tick. The black legged tick is also prevalent carrier of Lyme disease. Luckily, the tick has to be attached for an extended period of time (24 hours) to transmit this illness.
- Lone Star Tick: The lone star tick is most commonly found in the southern counties of Pennsylvania. They can be active from early spring to late fall but are at their peak season during the summer months. Lone star ticks live in low bushes and are known to be aggressive human biting ticks.
- The lone star tick in the past has caused some serious tick borne illnesses. They are known to be carriers of tularemia, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and have also cause tick paralysis in humans as well as dogs.
How we control ticks: At Budget Pest Control our experienced technicians allow us to confidently find problem areas in your yard or household that these nasty little bloodsuckers hide. Our tick service focus’ on your problem zones along with low lying shaded areas, or bushes around the yard to not only to provide tick elimination but also tick control, which will help to prevent them from entering your yard, home or business. One call to Budget Pest Control starts the ball rolling. Answer a few quick questions about your infestation our office technicians will put together an estimate for a tick control plan for you, your pets and your property of a pest problem that been really ticking you off (again…sorry).
Ticks are small, flightless insects that range from about 1/8 – 3/16ths of an inch. Most have an oval or almost seed-like shape to their bodies, and come in a range of colors from tan to brown to red. Ticks have a hard external carapace and can expand and become quite large once engorged.
- Ticks are members of the arachnid family.
- Ticks climb up to find a host. As they cannot fly or jump, they will simply detach from their resting places, free-fall to the ground and infest a host once a suitable one is found.
- Removing a tick in the wrong way can still transmit disease. If the tick is found and removed forcefully or incorrectly, its mouthparts may remain or it may have a trigger reaction to vomit infective fluids into its host before death.
MYTH: Ticks, just like fleas, will jump on you out in nature to suck your blood.
FACT: Ticks are unable to fly, jump or do much other than fall to get to you. Most often, what occurs when you’re bitten is that the tick will hide on the underside of a leaf, blade of grass or branch and simply hitchhike once you’ve brushed up on it.
MYTH: Ticks only bite people, dogs and cats.
FACT: Ticks will find not only people, dogs and cats suitable, but will also infest birds, rodents and reptiles.
- It is rare that a home will be infested with ticks (although it most definitely can happen), but it is much more common to find a tick on your clothing, belongings or even your skin.
- Rather than being a sign of an infestation, a major factor for infestation will be that your yard is covered in lush vegetation. The moist, shady undersides of plant life are highly attractive areas for these ticks to call home. While we don’t require you to cut down all of your plant life, we do recommend taking caution when letting pets or children play in these areas.