Tick Control Around Your Home

Ticks suck. We can keep them at bay.

How we GET RID OF ticks around your home

We can help with tick control around your home. Our tick treatments will help control the tick population in your yard and our expert education will teach you how keep your pets and children away from them even when you are out and about on a hike. It’s important information because of the few kinds of ticks common in New England, one of them just happens to be the one that transmits Lyme disease. In addition, there are others in our area that transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever. No wonder tick pest control is so important. No matter the kind of tick you have around your home, you need it taken care of. That’s where we come in.

Waltham Tick Reduction Plan

Step One

Inspection

Focusing on the areas around your yard where the highest density of ticks may be, we will identify those spots.

Step Two

Treatment

We will treat twice a year, making sure to use the appropriate products to take care of the correct life stage in the spring vs the summer.

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Step Three

Ongoing

Exterior rodent control and exclusion will help deprive ticks of hosts that may live near or around your home.

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What does a tick look like

That depends what kind of tick you have. Oval and flattened in shape, American dog ticks are brown with whitish to gray markings. When unengorged (i.e. not filled with blood), the female blacklegged tick is roughly 1/8”, while male ticks are slightly smaller at about 1/16”. Both male and female deer ticks have flat, oval bodies, and are not hard-shelled. Lone star ticks have reddish brown oval bodies that become slate grey when engorged. Females have a single whitish to silvery spot on their backs. Male lone star ticks have several inverted horseshoe-shaped whitish spots along their backs.

How to get rid of ticks

Habitat modification and the removal of hosts are key to getting rid of ticks. Keep grass cut low, and trim back vegetation along trails, paths, and yard edges. Remove debris and ground cover to discourage rodents from making your yard their home since ticks like to attach themselves to rodents.

Where do ticks live

Most ticks prefer to hide in grass and shrubs while waiting for a passing host, so be sure to keep your yard well maintained and mowed. They prefer vegetation located in transitional areas such as where forest meets field, mowed lawn meets unmowed fence line, or a foot trail through high grass or forest as these areas are where most animals travel sometime during each 24-hour period.

What is a tick

Ticks are parasitic arachnids. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and “fullness”. Ticks are external parasites, living by feeding on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians.

How long does a tick live

Many species of ticks live for about two to three years. Most of their life is spent out in the environment rather than on a host or in a host’s nest. During their entire lifetime, they will only have up to three blood meals.

What ticks carry Lyme disease

In our area, the black-legged tick, also called the deer tick, mainly carry the bacteria that transmits Lyme disease.

Where do ticks come from

Ticks are often picked up in wooded areas or patches of overgrown vegetation. They have to stay attached to their hosts for several days to properly feed, meaning they travel wherever their host goes.

Do ticks die in the winter

Colder winters can cut down the number of ticks that survive through winter. However, studies show only around 20 percent of the population die off. Carefully controlled lab experiments, using freezers, show that ticks will die between -2 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit. A mild winter can mean less die off and more ticks in the spring when the pests emerge.

How to prevent ticks

Wearing tick repellent and long-sleeved clothes can help prevent ticks from attaching to skin. Avoid sitting on logs, stumps, or the ground in bushy areas. Periodically inspect clothing and the body for ticks to remove them before they become attached.

Are ticks dangerous

Ticks can be infected with bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Some of the most common tick-borne diseases in the United States include: Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, anaplasmosis, Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness, Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, and tularemia. Some can be dangerous.

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WHY WALTHAM FOR TICK TREATMENTS?

We’re passionate about controlling ticks around your home because we live and work here – it’s our neighborhood, too. With our 130 years of experience keeping homes and businesses in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont safe from pests, Waltham has the experience you can trust.
  • Satisfaction Guarantee

  • 24-Hour Guaranteed Response

  • Board Certified Entomologists

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“Exceptional service. Prompt and professional. Used for both business and home. Very efficient and honest.”

Lisa T.
Agawan, MA
technician