Ticks

Pest Control: How to Get Rid of Ticks

The pest control service technicians at Miller Pest Control will treat for ticks on your property by using a comprehensive, integrated tick control plan. The specific requirements of a control plan are situational and will vary based on the infestation and your property. This may include spraying the area and habitat modifications to make your property less appealing to Ticks.

How to Prevent Ticks

You can help keep ticks away from your property by:

• Keeping the grass trimmed
• Trimming bushes and tree branches to let in sunlight (ticks avoid hot, dry locations)
• Creating a border of gravel or woodchips one metre or wider around your yard if you’re next to a wooded area, or an area with tall grasses
• Removing leaf litter, brush and weeds at the edge of the lawn and from stone walls and woodpiles
• Moving children’s swing sets, playground equipment and sandboxes away from wooded areas
• Consider placing equipment on a woodchip or mulch foundation

About Ticks

How to Identify a Tick

Blacklegged ticks are small and hard to see. They attach themselves to humans and animals and feed on their blood. They can range in size depending on how long they have been feeding.

How to avoid getting a tick bite

You might be at risk if you live, work in, or visit a wooded area or an area with tall grasses and bushes (including city gardens and parks). You may also be at risk if you are involved in outdoor activities such as hiking, camping and gardening. You may be bitten by a tick and not even know it.

Here’s what you can do to avoid getting a tick bite.

Cover up:

• light-coloured clothing, so it’s easier to see ticks
• closed-toed shoes
• long-sleeved shirts
• long pants, tucked into your socks
• Use insect repellent
• Use an insect repellent, or bug spray, that says “DEET” or “icaridin” on it. Put it on your clothes and exposed skin. Always read the label for directions on how to use it.

Put clothes in the dryer – Kill any ticks that might be on your clothing by putting your clothes in a dryer on high heat for at least 10 minutes before washing them.

Check yourself, your children, & your pets – After being outdoors, check for ticks that may have attached themselves. Look:

• behind your knees
• on your head
• in your belly button
• in your groin area
• in your underarm area
• on the back of your body – use a mirror, or ask someone to check for you

Ask your veterinarian about options to help keep ticks off your pets.

Possible Health Concerns

Lyme disease is a potentially serious infection that you can get if you’re bitten by an infected blacklegged tick (also called a deer tick). Not all blacklegged ticks carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, and not everyone who is bitten by an infected tick will develop signs and symptoms of Lyme disease.