Problem Ticks and Tick Pest Solutions

Ticks!

You never really think about ticks until you´re experiencing them, in which case they´re the only thing that you can think about at all.

Whether you´re enjoying a stroll through your favorite hiking trail, working on your lawn or getting some bonding time in with your pet at a dog park, there´s always a chance that one of these itchy, invasive little creatures can wind up looking to you for free food and lodging.

Still, most consider ticks to be an easy enough problem to deal with. I mean, after all – all anyone has to do is remove the nasty thing. Problem solved, right? Wrong.

Close-Up of Tick on Grass

The Damage from Ticks

Aside from being a general annoyance, ticks (and most infamously here in California – The Western Black Legged Tick) are known carriers of Lyme Disease, which if left untreated can cause flu like symptoms, rashes, problems with the heart, nervous system and much more.

In fact, if a doctor prescribed treatment isn´t applied in the earlier stages of the disease, the victim could run the risk of only being able to improve their symptoms, not eliminate them.

Suddenly it´s easier to take these little nasties a bit more seriously, isn´t it?

Know Thy Enemy

Tick Biology

The old cliché of “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer” was never meant to apply to ticks (or for that matter, any other pest that we at Hearts offer treatments for) but it´s good to be able to understand them and their life cycle.

Ticks are pretty much a worldwide problem. However, they tend to thrive in tropical areas with a high enough humidity to keep them hydrated and a dense enough population of host species to keep them well enough fed to undergo their metamorphosis.

That´s right. They can transform. They can become bigger, faster, stronger…

• In the Spring, adult female ticks will lay their eggs. This is usually done rather inconspicuously on the ground.
• As Spring progresses into Summer, the eggs hatch into larvae and attach themselves to a host for feeding.
• After a few days, the larvae will drop off of their hosts and go through their transformation process to become nymphs. Once this process is complete, they´ll stay where they are until the following Spring when they attach to yet another host.
• After roughly 4-5 days of gluttony, the nymph will once again drop off their host and go through another transformation process, this time molting to become a full fledged, fully grown, FDA approved, licensed and registered Adult Tick.

As you may have noticed, ticks do a lot of traveling in their lives as they´re constantly looking for new hosts. This process is called “Questing.” They do this by climbing and perching on blades of grass or stems of leaves with their front legs extended. The second a suitable host walks by those extended legs of theirs, they climb aboard where they may reside for a couple hours to a couple weeks.

The tick lives to suck blood. Close-up of tick in waiting for a meal.

Ticks and You…

With their relatively long life span and the possibility of disease that comes with them, Ticks are clearly a much bigger problem to you and/or your pets than most people credit them.

Help for Ticks in Southern California

Here in the vastly populated, tropical area that is Southern California, we can be sure to expect tick activity, be it in our yard or elsewhere. The question is – what do you plan to do about it?

If ever you find yourself worried about a possible tick infestation, we should be the first people you call to take care of that for you.

All of our technicians are trained to diagnose a tick problem as well as treat it so that it´s no longer an issue for you. With a variety of options ranging from conventional pest control to our favored organic “Greenthumb” approach, we´re sure to be able to control your pest problem and consult with you about how to make sure that it stays controlled.

Give us a call. We´ll be happy to take care of your home.

Pest control consulting technicians dispatched from your home town!