Tick Control

Two types of ticks are common to the Jersey Shore area. The largest and most often seen is the American dog tick, much smaller is the deer tick. Both types of ticks can transmit disease; the American dog tick is a carrier of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, the Deer Tick transmits Lyme Disease.

The lifecycle of ticks allows for effective control measures at three points, the larvae, the nymph and the adult stages. By targeting these three stages with directed applications the tick population can be drastically reduced. Tick control is valuable where the risk of exposure to ticks is greatest…in the woods and garden fringe area. This area is known as the ecotone. The ecotone is the transition zone between lawn areas and wooded areas that is the preferred habitat for ticks. Approximately 90% of deer ticks on a property will be found in the ecotone areas with less than 2% found in lawn areas. Tick control treatments concentrating on the lawn perimeter areas provide the greatest protection by quickly reducing the number of active ticks in your landscape.

Habitat modification is considered to be the most permanent approach to tick management. Ticks require areas of high humidity to survive, they are most commonly found in grassy, brushy, wooded, and shaded areas. By reducing the humidity in these areas the tick population can be eliminated. Simple changes to the home landscape such as: keeping grass well-clipped, removing brush, and pruning trees to allow more sunlight to penetrate to the soil surface will discourage ticks from becoming established.

Keep in mind that ticks can also be carried into your property by pets and small rodents.