Ticks are parasites that can be hazardous to your health. If you live in Houston, you should take action to prevent ticks from coming onto your property. Find out what you should know about tick control and learn how a pest control professional can help you keep ticks away and your family safe.
Types Of Ticks In Houston
There are two basic types of ticks – hard ticks and soft ticks. In Texas, hard ticks are more common than soft ones. Typically, residents of the state come across the following species:
- Lone Star tick
- Black-legged tick
- Deer tick
- Brown dog tick
- American dog tick
Although all of the ticks are parasites, the black-legged tick is the most dangerous. It’s the species that is most notorious for carrying Lyme disease. If infected by the disease, you could experience migraines, joint pain, heart palpitations, and other neurological issues.
Ticks transmit diseases by feeding on pets and animals. For the most part, they hitchhike into your yard on other animals and wait for an appropriate host. When they find a warm body, they latch on. To accomplish this, they use hooks to dig into the skin. Then, they use a hook-like appendage called a hypostome to hold on. The hypostome is so well-anchored that you may not be able to remove the tick without using certain tools and extreme caution.
Diseases Spread By Ticks
In addition to spreading Lyme disease, ticks also spread other diseases to humans or animals. Rocky Mountain spotted fever, ehrlichiosis, Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), and tularemia are only some of the tick-borne illnesses spread to humans.
It’s also important to realize that a tick bite could also cause an allergic reaction. You may experience a rash or a burning sensation. If you want to avoid a tick bite, you need to take some preventative measures.
Preventing Ticks In Nature
There are ticks all over Houston, so you should be cautious when you go outdoors. Although you can’t do much to eliminate ticks in the wild, you can take a few preventative measures.
For instance, you should wear long pants and long sleeves. You should also wear high socks and tuck your pants into your socks. Although it might not look trendy, your clothing makes it difficult for ticks to access bare skin and latch on.
As you enjoy the outdoors, try to stay on the trails. Ticks tend to stay in the thick brush and tall grasses. The more you venture away from the trail, the greater your chance of encountering ticks.
Treat your clothing with a tick repellent. There are several CDC approved chemicals such as permethrin or DEET that effectively repel ticks.
Preventing Ticks In Your Yard
The best place to start with tick prevention is in your backyard. By making your yard less hospitable for ticks and the wildlife that carries them, you reduce your chance of contracting a tick bite. All of the following tips can make your yard a safer place:
- Clean up unnecessary debris in your yard. The more debris you have in your yard, the more you’ll attract wildlife. Rodents are particularly attracted to debris piles, and they are often carriers of ticks. If you have any piles of mulch or leaves in your yard, you should remove them.
- Eliminate areas of standing water. Standing water also attracts wildlife. To prevent ticks, dump out all standing water in your yard. Turn empty pots upside down and throw out any spare tires.
- Keep trees and shrubs trimmed. If you have an unruly yard, you may have ticks. Keep your yard well-maintained by trimming your trees and shrubs.
Professional Tick Control Is Always Best
For the best form of tick control for your Houston yard, contact the professionals at Romney. We have the experience to greatly reduce the population of ticks and other unwanted pests on your property. Don’t be afraid to enjoy your time outdoors; reach out to us today to discuss all of your tick control options!
