Ticks are a common pest well known for carrying disease. One of the most common diseases ticks carry is Lyme disease. The key to protecting your family and pets from ticks is to have a professional tick control service, which Family Pest Solutions can help with.
Family Pest Solutions uses a Natural Botanical product (25-B – low risk). The active ingredient in our product is cedar-wood oil – it offers some of the best pest control against ticks that you can find, while being low risk.
THE LIFE CYCLE OF A TICK
Ticks have several different life phases, namely four. These are called:
- Larva (Six-Legged)
- Nymph (Eight-Legged)
We will go ahead and break down each life stage for you, that way you can better understand the behavior of ticks and how they can be dangerous for your home.
Adult ticks will lay eggs that then hatch into larvae. The larvae will need a place to live and nourish its new body, so it will find a host to latch onto and feed off of the host’s blood. These first hosts are usually smaller creatures, commonly rodents.
After the larva leeches off of the first host, it falls off the host and molts into the nymph phase. After successfully molting, the nymph will find a second host, which can still be a small animal, but also includes larger ones, such as humans. The nymph will feed off of this host until it once more removes itself from the host to find another one and begin the adult life phase.
Once ticks reach adulthood, they begin to reproduce. Female ticks can lay up to three thousand eggs, and the average tick life cycle is 3 years.
WHAT DOES A TICK LOOK LIKE?
Ticks are very small, and sometimes hard to spot; however, they are easy to identify once discovered.
Ticks are oval shaped when they have not fed, but after feeding they “inflate” and have a thick round body. Ticks are around 2-6 millimeters long when fully matured into an adult. They can be up to 10 millimeters long once they have fed completely. They can have 6-8 legs, depending on which stage of their life cycle they are in.
SIGNS OF A TICK INFESTATION IN AN ALBANY HOME
If you live in Albany, NY, or the greater Capital District area, and are wondering if you have a tick infestation on your hands, the good news is that it can be easy to find out if you do.
Knowing if you have a tick infestation boils down to whether or not you have several ticks on your body or any of your family members or pets’ bodies. Check warmer areas of your body to see if there are any ticks using you as a host. Some common areas you may find ticks are:
If you find any ticks whatsoever, then you should make sure to give Family Pest Solutions a call. We can help perform an inspection to determine if you have an infestation in your home and offer pest control solutions that will eradicate these nuisances.
Being proactive about preventing ticks from infesting your home is the best way to keep from having an ongoing tick problem.
Here are some prevention tips to keep ticks out of your home:
- Check yourself, pets, or children before entering your home after an outdoor adventure.
- If you’re planning to be outdoors, wear long socks and tuck your pants into them. Also make sure you wear shirts with long sleeves.
- Use an insect repellant that is proven to repel ticks
- Keep grass mowed near your home and keep weeds away from your building.
- Call Family Pest Solutions for other prevention tips and tricks!
HOW CAN FAMILY PEST SOLUTIONS HELP ME?
Family Pest Solutions offers a three-step pest control service that can help you eliminate and prevent ticks from invading your home. We begin by inspecting the property, identifying where ticks can thrive, and then customizing a solution with recommendations. We also treat vegetation close to your home and place a barrier around the perimeter of your yard.
We also use a Natural Botanical product (25-B – low risk). The active ingredient in our product is cedar-wood oil – it offers some of the best pest control against ticks that you can find, while being low risk.
Call us today or use the free inspection form on our website to start getting rid of ticks! We service the greater Capital District area, including Albany, Troy, Schenectady, and Clifton Park, New York.