A tick spray for the yard is a good idea. The reason is that Lyme disease is on the rise and more often than not many people and pets pick up the disease from an infected tick in their own yard. Now, certainly there are other places like parks, hiking trails and the woods, but most people will spend more time at their home and this increases the chances of infection.
Some facts about Lyme disease
If you can believe it some people still don’t know a lot about Lyme disease even though if you live in CT there’s a fairly good chance you can be exposed. Lyme is a tick borne illness caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The deer tick carries the bacteria and new cases are more than 200,000 per year. There are also many more cases that are not diagnosed in both people and animals.
Part of the problem of why Lyme goes without treatment is that the symptoms can be flu like or go undetected in animals. Often a medical diagnosis is necessary which may also include lab work. One often confused fact is that the bite area need not always have a much talked about bulls eye mark. Scary stuff!!!
The role rodents play
The role that rodents play in Lyme disease is well documented. The larvae and the nymphs become infected with the bacteria when they feed on blood from small animals. The rodent of particular interest is the white footed deer mouse. This rodent is well distributed throughout CT and lives in stone walls, homes, garages, wood piles etc. The ticks are carried by these animals from point to point which spreads them to other areas.
Preventative measures
The fact is that the best way to stay clear from Lyme is to prevent it. To prevent Lyme totally you’ll have to avoid the areas where you know ticks are likely to be. The problem is that there are some times that this is not always feasible. Here are a few prevention tips for when you think you have been exposed or are going to be exposed:
- Do regular tick checks head to toe on yourself, children and pets
- If you must go in the woods tuck pants into your shoes or socks
- Use insect repellents with DEET
- Wear light colored clothing
Tick spray for the yard
Probably the best thing that you can do at home is do a tick spray for the yard. When a competent operator provides the service with an approved product the chances of finding ticks goes down. There are many areas that need to be treated, but the most important are the woods perimeter, flower beds and the first 2′-3′ of the lawn before the woods. In the spring time it may be beneficial to spray the lawn, but once summer comes this is a waste as ticks don’t spend much time in sunny well ventilated areas.
Last, a tick spray for the yard shouldn’t be done with an organic product as frankly they don’t work as well as a pesticide. Now, I know some people will disagree and that’s fine, but the fact is a pesticide can be used safely and. A careful application to the above areas as well as frequency and timing are all that is needed to make huge impact on any yard. The alternative is that you take your chances that you’ll end up with Lyme disease or the worry of getting it.
If you need tick control, Envirocare Pest Control can be reached at 1-888-879-6481.