Suggestions to Help Keep Ticks Out

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Here are a few suggestions that we all can do to help with the tick problem.

1) Clean out areas that would be good tick habitats - weeds, rubbage, etc.

2) Exclude all tick-carrying animals from our area - Mice and voles and other animals will continue to bring ticks into the area unless we can exclude them. We have had a vole problem in this area previously, and it sounds like many neighbors are discovering voles once again. They are notorious tick carriers. Also, check your pets and use repellants on them.

3) SPRAY - Those who know me well, might be shocked at my encouragement to spray because I have always been wary of chemicals. I have researched this quite a bit and would never encourage anyone to do this unless I felt very comfortable with safety. The chemicals that kill ticks are very low-toxicity to mammals and are actually chemicals that are already commonly used. They are safe around pets and children. Unfortunately, the way that most homes are sprayed with them will not do much for ticks as an area much further around the home and well into the yard must be treated. To be able to do this, the person spraying must have 2 different state licences. If you already use a company you could see if they can spray the yard as well or you can try to track someone down, but after many phone calls, I found that a company, JITTERBUG PEST CONTROL, has both licenses and is familiar with spraying for ticks. (I know some of you already use this company and have recommended it.) He has agreed to help us with a neighborhood spray and is willing to do it at a great price. He will do a one-time spray for $65. (You can also talk to him about annual/seasonal plans if interested). This price typically just includes the home, the perimeter, and garage area; however, because he understands that much of the yard needs to be treated to effectively kill ticks, he has agreed to include yard area as well for the $65.00 price while other companies ask $85.00 for just the yard. His number is 766-9390 and if you mention that you are from this neighborhood he will know what you are talking about. He is going to be treating quite a few yards here this Friday and again the beginning of next week. (By the way, if you do not want inside your home done, you can of course opt for that). I realize that spraying just one time won't take care of the problem but it can be a great start and if we all spray around the same time it could really help our neighborhoods become more safe. It really will be most effective if we spray within a short time of each other. By the way, I promise I have no ties to this company.