Ticks are tiny, spider-like parasites that fasten themselves to your pet’s skin to feed on its blood. Although these creepy little critters prefer to feed on the blood of animals, they’ll attach themselves to people if necessary. Typically, they can be found in areas where there are a lot of trees or underbrush.
Tick Prevention
Since ticks can carry diseases such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, you’ll want to do your best to prevent them from hopping on you or your pet. Products such as Frontline and Advantix can help to prevent ticks from collecting on your dog or cat. Additionally, the following tips can help keep ticks at bay as well.
• Stay away from heavily wooded areas.
• Wear long sleeves and pants when outdoors.
• Tuck your pants into your socks.
• Wear light-colored clothing.
• Spray insect repellent on yourself and your pet when outdoors.
• Keep your pet away from bushes and underbrush.
• Wear gloves when working outdoors.
• Don’t allow leaves and/or pine straw to accumulate in your yard.
Removing Ticks
At times, despite your preventive efforts, you may find that a tick has attached itself to you or your pet. If this happens, you’ll want to remove it right away. Although you may have heard that placing a flame to the tick will make it release the skin, this is not true. In fact, this technique can be dangerous, especially to animals. For proper tick removal, use the following tips instead.
1. Using a pair of pointy-tipped tweezers, grab the tick as close to the skin as you can.
2. Gently pull the parasite upwards. Don’t twist the tick or jerk it out. Pull it out slowly and steadily. Never crush the tick either. This will simply release harmful saliva onto the skin.
4. Disinfect the site of the bite, and wash your hands thoroughly.
5. It’s a good idea to save the tick inside a sealed bag or jar in case you or your pet become ill from the bite.
Pest Control in Austin
The steps described above will help you remove any ticks that attach themselves to you or your pet. However, what about any ticks that may be living in your yard or garden? While there are products on the market that claim to kill ticks, many of them are ineffective and only provide temporary solutions.
If you want to effectively eliminate ticks from your Austin home, the best thing for you to do is hire a professional pest control company. The professionals at ABC Home & Commercial Services in Austin have all of the experience and knowledge necessary to get rid of these pesky critters once and for all. For more information about tick removal or professional pest control in Austin, be sure to visit our website.