ticks

I need the name/recommendation urgently of a reputable service that can spray my yard for ticks. We found one in the house about a month ago, then DH got 2 on him today... one implanted on him!

Please, if there is any advice on this let me know... I'd prefer an organic pesticide b/c we have 2 toddlers. We called an exterminator who we have other contracts with and they do not handle ticks!

Re: ticks

No need to call an exterminator. I recently learned alot about this and can help you out.

As you may recall, we also recently moved to Suffolk and are in tick country. In March, I found one on my DDs scalp (not implanted, walking around)...after coming in from our yard.

So I did alot of research. This is what we did. Clean up all debris around the home, in the yard, etc. Anywhere that is damp, shady and moist is HOME for ticks. Esp brush. Anywhere a mouse can live/hide is a home for a tick. THe mice transport them and are the biggest vehicles for them.

We cut down alot of trees and loads of brush, etc, to increase the sunlight to our yard where DD and our pets will play. Ticks DO NOT live in cut grass, sunny areas, etc. So there is NO NEED to treat your entire yard at all. No need, it would be pointless as sunny areas will prevent tick growth. Keeping grass short and leaves picked up is the key b/c ticks live in shady areas.

Ok...so...what can you do besides this if you live near brush or forest? 2 landscapers told us about this product. I bought it, went out to Port Jeff Agway to get it but you can buy it online.

It's called Damminex. Here is the link. 2 diff landscapers with pets, kids swore by this product and we have it here and once our yard is done, we plan to use it. It's considered fairly safe for kids and pets since you do NOT treat your entire grass. It's tubes with cotton balls soaked with a fairly safe chemical that kills ticks. I can't wait to use it b/c it will help kill ticks where they lay (with mice in their mice nests). The website has loads of info and FAQ that will answer anything you can think of.

Where was your DH btw, and what was he doing? Are you sure they are ticks? We see so many odd bugs here, sometimes I can't even tell what is what when we whip out our magnifying glass (but I was Sure it was a tick om y DD, it was a deer tick for sure).

We can't exactly figure out how it got on my DD. We had loads of piles of leaves around from the fall so it could have been that or DH was in the brush with the landscaper so he could have had it on him then when he carried her it went on her. So anytime we go near shady areas or brush, we put our clothes in the machine with hot water and then in the hot dryer in case any ticks were on us. We also keep our pets away from brush.

HTH

http://ticktubes.com/

Message edited 6/13/2011 11:12:33 PM.

Re: ticks

Thank you for this info. Sounds like a great product! I did make a call this am to north shore tree spraying. They have an organic spray safe around pets and kids. We are planning on taking down what we can of the trees and such, but our backyard butts up on protected state owned woods so we will never truly be brush and tree free although it is set back pretty far. Once we get the situation under control with a pro and we cut down some trees we will definitely try that product. Ticks will always be a possibility bc of the land behind us so precautions will be necessary. We committed to taking care of some indoor renovations. Probably the yard will be in the fall or next spring. For now the indoor cats are protected with front line and the kids are not using the backyard till the spraying is done.

Re: ticks

Message edited 6/14/2011 4:44:34 PM.

Re: ticks

Re: ticks

Also want to add...I read that spraying for ticks is pretty much useless b/c ticks hide and live and reproduce in the shady, moist areas, undergrowth areas, which spraying would not reach anyway. Just wanted to throw this out there. If it will help,that's great but I would hate for you to spend $$ and use a chemical if it won't do anything anyway.