Pest Exterminator

Meet the Pest

News Flash: Ticks are disgusting, blood-sucking pests. If you have them in your yard, you will want to learn how to get rid of ticks quickly and effortlessly. Ticks are actually arachnids and come in two categories: hard-shelled and soft-shelled. The hard-shelled variety is the one you normally find attached to your pet or even to yourself. Ticks are the second largest carrier of disease and are well known for their role in spreading Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, as well as many other illnesses. If you believe you have a tick infestation, then some intense extermination measures are certainly in order.

Bed & Breakfast

It can be difficult to decipher exactly how to get rid of ticks because they can live on so many different creatures and many different places. You probably know that ticks feed on blood, and while it may seem that your dog or cat is their favorite dining grounds, ticks also get their food from birds, reptiles, amphibians and many mammals including humans. If you believe the ticks in your yard are coming from a secondary pest issue like pigeons or rats, then you will need to follow up on do-it-yourself pest control tips for those specific critters.

Hard-bodied ticks typically live in tall grass, where they will sit at the very tip of a blade of grass and wait for a suitable host to brush by it. Mowing your lawn and keeping it short is a simple, do-it-yourself pest control tip that will bring you one step closer to learning how to get rid of ticks.

Quit Bugging Me!

Learning how to kill ticks will involve exterminating them from your lawn and possibly your home. It also means finding safe ways to deter the pests from using you and your family as a blood buffet.

Lawn

• If you live near a heavily wooded area or large field, deciding how to get rid of ticks can seem next to impossible. One unique option is to dig a 3-foot wide by 3-inch deep trench between your property and the grassy or wooded area. Fill the trench with gravel to provide enough of a barrier between your lawn and the ticks’ current home.
• There are many light pesticides that can provide extermination of both ticks and their eggs. Although ticks are arachnids and not insects, most generic insect repellents will do the trick. Just read the packaging to see if there are special instructions regarding how to kill ticks.
• You can purchase or make your own tick tubes for another do-it-yourself pest control tip. Fill cardboard tubes, like paper towel rolls, with a few cotton balls dipped in permethrin, a synthetic chemical. Any mice in your yard will come to the cotton to build their nests. The ticks that use those mice as a host will ingest the chemical and die, leaving the mice unharmed.

Your Pets
The ultimate tick control solution is to keep your pets indoors. Unless you have a cat, this will probably be an impossible remedy, so instead you will need to learn how to get rid of ticks and also deter them from your pets.

• The first step in understanding how to get rid of ticks from your dog or cat is to talk to a veterinarian about an effective tick medicine or repellent. Don’t try doing this on your own and definitely don’t use medication meant for dogs on any other pets. While you may be anxious to know how to get rid of ticks plaguing your pet, you don’t want to go overboard with chemicals and cause a new health problem for your pet.
• Regularly brush and comb your pet and give him or her a good tick-check. If you need to know how to get rid of ticks from very long fur, you can purchase a special tick comb from your local pet store.
• If your pet spends a great deal of time outdoors, try to give him or her a resting place that is away from grass or at least in very short grass. You may want to spot-treat this area with a light pesticide.
• Wash any bedding, indoor or outdoor, regularly. This simple household chore can be a surprisingly effective, do-it-yourself pest control technique and a way to get rid of fleas as well as ticks.

You & Your Family
If you can’t avoid the areas likely to harbor ticks, then a little preparation will help ensure you make your home tick-free.

• Cover up as much skin as possible. Ticks attach themselves to you when you brush past them, so keeping your legs and ankles covered will at least keep the ticks off of your skin.
• Use a strong repellent. There are many sprays and lotions that are effective insect and tick repellents. Some repellents that are safe for adults can be harmful to small children, so read the label carefully before you apply.

Good Riddance

Understanding the source of your tick infestation goes a long way in figuring out how to get rid of ticks. Sometimes a simple increase in lawn maintenance is enough to cut down the number of ticks roaming in your yard. Or a secondary infestation – mice for example – could be the real culprit and then a whole new set of extermination and pest control devices are necessary. Until you are able to determine the source of your tick troubles, some common sense and a strong repellent will at least keep them off of you and your family.