Tick Extermination
Professional Home Pest Control Solutions
Ticks are tiny pests that can cause serious problems for pets and humans. A tick can attach to your skin and start feeding off your blood without you even noticing that it is there. The small size and behavior of ticks make it easy for them to find and attach to a host. Ticks are a threat to humans because they can spread serious diseases like Lyme disease and tularemia. This pest is known to live in wooded areas throughout New Jersey. To protect your home or business from ticks, you need to learn about the behavior of this pest, take steps for prevention, and find effective treatment options should an infestation occur.
What Are Ticks?
Ticks are parasitic pests that latch onto your flesh and live off your blood. Ticks attach by creating a wound on your skin and then insert a feeding tube into that wound. Once they latch on, ticks can stay attached to you for an extended period. These pests can remain attached to your skin for up to two weeks. Once the tick is full, it will fall off your skin on its own.
Exterminators explain ticks are dangerous pests because they can spread serious diseases to humans. The symptoms of these diseases can range from mild—irritated skin—to profoundly serious symptoms such as high fever and swelling. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides an exhaustive list of tick-borne diseases in the U.S. This list includes examples such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tularemia.
How Do I Identify Ticks?
Ticks are arachnids. Some types of ticks have six legs in the early stages of development, but all ticks have eight legs when they reach adulthood. Ticks are flat, oval, and typically a shade of brown when they have not been feeding for long. Once ticks are engorged, they become larger, more round, and often appear to change colors. Exterminators explain the behavior of ticks is unique when compared to many other types of pests. Ticks attach to your skin and you cannot remove them by simply brushing them away. Ticks anchor themselves to your flesh with the tube they insert to feed off your blood. In order to completely remove the tick, you need to do so by using a technique that removes the entire body and the head. The CDC recommends using a pair of fine-tipped tweezers to remove a tick that’s attached to your skin.
If you find you have a tick attached to your skin, remove it as soon as possible. It is important to take note of any symptoms that arise after you notice the tick. The CDC provides a list of symptoms to look out for after an encounter with a tick. Seek medical help if you have any concerns that you have contracted a tick-borne illness.
You can get help identifying potential tick activity and habitats around your home or business from the pest control experts at Tapout.
What Are the Effects of Ticks In and Around My Home or Business?
Ticks around your home or place of business can cause serious problems for you, your family, your pets and customers. Ticks can spread serious diseases to humans including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever and tularemia. Some tick bites are harmless, but others can lead to symptoms that include skin irritation, headache, fever, abdominal pain, swelling, and neurological problems.
How Long Do Ticks Live?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ticks can live up to three years. Ticks attach themselves to your skin and can feed for several days to two weeks at a time. Once full, these pests detach from your skin and start preparing for the next life stage and feeding. If ticks do not find their next host after their last feeding, they may not survive the three years.
How Do I Prevent Ticks?
Tick prevention includes a combination of outdoor maintenance efforts, personal protection, and intervention or recommendations from a pest control expert. Ticks thrive in wooded areas. If you have overgrown vegetation near your house or business, cutting it back can help with tick control. Pest control experts recommend creating space between wooded areas and the places where your family or customers move about.
When you plan to spend time outdoors, you can take precautions against tick bites by using tick repellent spray or wearing tick repellent clothing. It may take multiple visits to your home or business to look for and treat areas of your property where ticks live and breed. By getting to ticks at the source, we at Tapout Pest control can provide effective protection against ticks.
