Protect Your Family From Ticks

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Some pests can irritate you and some pests that can put you at risk of health issues. Ticks are one of those pests that can lead to serious health problems. The information here will educate you on tick risks, tick prevention, and other important advice so you can protect yourself and your family from this tiny, dangerous pest.

Identifying Ticks

Different types of ticks exist, but they all have a few things in common. Ticks are small, ticks embed their head under your skin, and all tick bites should be taken seriously.

You can have a hard time identifying a tick at first, because they tend to look a lot like some of the small beetle species. While some ticks and beetles look alike, beetles do not come with the same risks that ticks do. The main difference that makes ticks easily identifiable is their very tiny head.

Ticks can vary in color; possible colors include black, brown, light gray, green, reddish brown, and yellow.  Tick larvae have six legs while adults have eight. Ticks can be so small they are about the size of a dot from a pen. Ticks can also be as large as the size of an apple seed.

Dealing With Tick Bites

One of the problems with ticks is they can look like a speck of dirt. Therefore, some people unknowingly scrape the ticks off their skin. The problem with this is removing a tick this way leaves the tick’s head embedded under the person’s skin.

An easy way to remove a tick is to cover the tick with a cotton ball soaked in liquid dish soap. Leave the cotton ball in place for about a minute, then pull off the cotton ball and the tick should be stuck to the cotton ball. This trick works because the tick starts to suffocate, so the tick backs out of your skin to breath and gets stuck in the soap.

Ticks and Lyme Disease

Ticks can carry diseases they may transmit when they bite you. One of the major illness’s ticks can transmit is Lyme disease, and there is still a lot that is not known about this illness. The most common tick to carry Lyme disease is the deer tick.

A person may see a bullseye rash spread around the site of the bite if the tick transmitted Lyme disease. However, you can get Lyme disease with no rash as well.

See your doctor after being bitten by a tick to start antibiotics. If you don’t start on antibiotics soon after the bite, you may develop chronic Lyme disease which can be a lifelong struggle. Lyme disease has numerous possible symptoms that vary from person to person, so it can be difficult to diagnose.

Preventing Tick Bites

The best way to prevent tick bites is to keep ticks out of your yard. Also, don’t go hiking in areas with a lot of shrubbery. If you spend time in the wilderness, check your entire body when you get home. Check your pets for ticks on a weekly basis.

To keep ticks out of your yard, try to keep wild animals such as raccoons and deer from coming onto your property. You can use fencing, noise, motion activated lights, and other deterrents to scare off wildlife. Cut back bushes and keep the lawn short to also prevent tick infestations in the yard.

Have a pest control company come out to treat your yard. By treating the yard, you will know that any ticks that do make their way onto your property will soon be dead and no longer pose a threat to yourself, your family, and your animals. Contact us for your pest control needs. We will come out and treat your yard for you.

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