#tick activity

First Snow of the Season

It's that special fall morning when you wake up to see a light layer of white on the grass. With the holidays and winter right around the corner, many clients ask us, "When is the right time to stop fall tick treatments?" Often after the first snow of the season, our office phone rings because it's a common misconception that ticks die when it gets cold. Unfortunately, ticks are resilient. They hide under leaf litter and other brush for protection and reemerge as soon as conditions improve. That means if the snow melts and temperatures increase even only slightly, ticks will be on the hunt again for a host. At this time of season, we are dealing with adult deer ticks who search for larger hosts such as humans, deer, dogs, and cats. The female deer ticks use this last blood meal in order to lay an egg mass containing thousands of eggs in the early spring. Property sprays that safely eliminate ticks are important to control the future population and prevent the spread of tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease.

Here are quick tips to remember in the fall so you stay vigilant in the fight against ticks and the illnesses they spread:

Blacklegged ticks (a.k.a Deer ticks) take 2 years to complete their life cycle. Both nymph and adult stages transmit diseases such as Lyme disease, Babesiosis, and Anaplasmosis.

Adult males and females are active October-May, as long as the daytime temperature remains above freezing. They can be found about knee-high on the tips of branches of low growing shrubs.

Keep a look out for unfed female Blacklegged ticks. They are easily distinguished from other ticks by their orange-red body. (See a picture here.)

The single most effective way to reduce blacklegged (deer) ticks in your yard is by insecticide applications. Continuing these sprays during the seasons when ticks are most active will reduce the population on your property and protect your family.

We love to check out the TickEncounter Resource Center out of the University of Rhode Island for the latest news on ticks in our area. They share detailed information on ticks that can be found in your community, season activity, and safety information to prevent tick bites. An easy way to stay up to date is to connect with them on Facebook or Twitter. You can also follow Dr. Mather (a.k.a. the TickGuy) on Twitter who is the director of URI's Center for Vector-Borne Disease and its TickEncounter Resource Center.