One thing that homeowners never want to deal with is insects. Insects in and around the home are never a good thing. Some insects are a large nuisance and other insects are very difficult to detect. Regardless, no one wants to deal with them. In this case, tiny insects like ticks are not something that anyone wants in their skin. Additionally, ticks can be found in many places and are known carriers of Lyme disease. Are there ticks in Florida? Yes, ticks can hitch rides on animals such as deer and then jump off the deer into the grass.
Let’s take a look at some more details regarding ticks.
What Are Ticks?
Ticks are small insects that have eight legs. They are related to spiders. A tick has a flat and oval body that will expand outward as it eats. Ticks feed off the blood of animals, birds, and even humans. On average a tick is the size of an apple seed. Their size makes them difficult to identify. Consequently, their ability to feed off blood makes them carriers of diseases.
Is There A Tick Season?
Believe it or not, ticks do have a period of time when they are more prevalent. In Florida, ticks are more active during the spring and summer months. If you are a person who loves the outdoors, then you should take the necessary precautions. Anything from wearing long clothing to spraying your exposed skin with a 20% DEET spray is recommended. Let’s take a look below at some others precautions you could take.
How to Prevent Ticks
Preventing ticks can be a tricky task. There are various ways that you can protect your skin from exposure to ticks. Let’s take a look below at some of those precautions.
- Outdoors – It is recommended that you wear closed-toe shoes, long pants, and long sleeves when you are outdoors. Additionally, wear light-colored clothes so that you can identify if a tick is on your clothing.
- Wooded areas – When hiking through wooded areas, stick to the middle portion of the path. This keeps you from brushing up against tall grasses or bushes that might have ticks on them.
- Repellent – Consider spraying a repellent that has 20-30% DEET.
- All done – Once you are done with your adventures outdoors, inspect your clothes and any pets that you have taken with you. You will want to use a family member to assist.
What Are The Types of Ticks?
In the United States, we know of two very common tick species. The Black-legged tick or “Deer tick” and the Western black-legged tick. Both of these ticks transmit Lyme disease. Let’s take a look below at some more details.
- Black-legged ticks – These ticks cannot live long without a host. Dryer air in homes with air conditioning makes the perfect environment for this type of tick to survive. These ticks love high humidity.
- Lone Star ticks – These ticks cannot live in a home longer than a few days. They love the short grass, sidewalks, and decks. They are constantly searching for a host.
- American Dog ticks – They cannot live in a home longer than a few days.
- Brown Dog ticks – These ticks can survive in a home for their entire life cycle. This could be years. These ticks love dog kennels. They are known to hang out in the bedding at the kennel or even your clothing when picked up outside. Ticks can survive the washing machine, but drying your clothes on high heat will kill a tick.
What Are The Diseases That Ticks Carry?
When it comes to disease carriers, ticks are experts. Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever are two well-known diseases that ticks carry. These two diseases are very serious health concerns. They both have similar symptoms such as nausea, fever, headache, and a rash where the bite took place. In some cases, these diseases can be fatal.
Recommended Maintenance
Now that you know about ticks, here are some other areas to think about. One of those is roaches. There are various kinds of roaches and different ways to get rid of them. If you have wood roaches, you need to put down a board with a specific type of glue on it and this will capture the roach as it walks across.
Another area is chiggers. When you walk through tall grass or are out hiking, you can pick up chiggers on your clothes. Chiggers are red bugs and live on clothes for a few hours. However, it is your body that these pests will live on longer and do more damage so taking a look for them is very important.
Lastly, ticks can live without a host, but the length of time depends on the stage of the tick. The tick can live for 24 hours up to 2 years without a host! If you do find them on your body, be careful when removing them, and also think about having a pest control service come to the home if you see them in the home.
When to Contact a Professional
If you happen to discover a tick infestation around your home, you will want to call on your local pest control company. In many cases, ticks can survive a long time without getting food. You will want to use your local pest control team to help with exterminating them from inside or around your home.
Conclusion
Protecting the health of you and your family is very important. Since ticks can transfer a variety of diseases you will want to get rid of them very quickly. It is also important for protecting your animals, in the event that you own pets. The last thing that you want to happen is for your animal to have Lyme disease due to a tick bite. Reach out to Inside and Out Pest Services in Jacksonville, FL, and surrounding areas to get your pest inspection done today.
