It starts with finding one tick, whether that’s picking it off of your clothes or your pet. It’s enough to make you nervous about discovering an infestation on your property. Effective pest control in Albany is the surest way to keep your property tick-free. But we’ve put together a list of tick control strategies below with the signs of an infestation, tick-borne diseases, prevention steps, and when to call the professionals for help keeping ticks away from your Albany home.

How To Identify: Signs Of A Tick Infestation

Tick infestations can occur when just one tick is brought in from outside. One female tick can lay thousands of eggs in an egg mass that’s brownish orange and resembles caviar. Here are a few signs to identify a tick infestation:

• Tick nesting areas: Ticks nest in shady, damp areas, such as leaf litter and overgrown vegetation. Examples of frequent nesting sites include tall grass, overgrown shrubbery or weeds, or an accumulation of fallen leaves.
• Tick eggs or larvae: Ticks lay eggs resembling a cluster of displaced caviar, and finding an egg mass can signal an established tick population. The egg cycle can last up to 60 days, but some species of ticks hatch within just a few weeks.
• Regular tick encounters: If you regularly encounter ticks, it may indicate an infestation on your property. If you’re regularly pulling a tick off of you or your pets during a walk, it’s a sign to check these areas more closely. Wooded areas, tall grass, and overgrown vegetation are all areas that ticks prefer.
• Pets carrying ticks indoors: Ticks can easily latch onto curious pets that dig through vegetation. Pets make the perfect hosts and can accidentally carry ticks into your house. If you find ticks on your pets after they’ve been outside, it’s a sign that ticks are present on your property.
• Tick bites: If you experience irritation, itching, or redness at the bite site, you may have been bitten by a tick. If you or a loved one has multiple tick bites in a brief time, you may have a large number of ticks on your property.

Keep in mind that tick bites can also transmit serious diseases. It’s important to treat tick bites and signs of an infestation seriously. Always inspect your body thoroughly for brown and black spots after being outside in an area that may have a tick population.

Top Tick-Borne Diseases: Symptoms And Treatments

Ticks in Albany also prefer warm and moist areas of the body, so they may settle on the scalp, groin, or armpits. They also bite around the waist, belly button, and ears. Once it’s selected a spot, the tick burrows its head into your skin. If you decide to pull a tick out on your own, use tweezers and latex gloves for tick removal. Save the tick for testing.

Though a tick bite is painless, it can transmit tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and tularemia. Some of these diseases can be debilitating and affect people for life. Tick-borne illnesses can also occur due to sensitivity to tick bites, but the symptoms could signal the transmission of disease. Please see a doctor if you experience fever, chills, body aches similar to flu, headaches, fatigue, or a rash.

The most common treatment is a course of antibiotics, though the medical professional may request further testing to ensure no false positives.

Tick Prevention: Remedy Factors That Attract Ticks To Your Property

Wearing long sleeves and pants is only so helpful to ensure tick protection. Removing tick habitats or reducing their appeal helps keep ticks away from your Albany yard  and in the heavily wooded areas where they belong. Natural tick prevention by making adjustments to your property is also more beneficial to the environment.

Ticks are drawn to damp, shady areas and may settle in woodpiles, leaf litter, tall grass, and other overgrown areas. Trim back your lawn and overgrown vegetation. Relocate woodpiles further away from your home. You may also consider a tree trimming service, as it’s also possible to have a tick nest on your tree as well as to allow more light onto your property.

Ticks also prefer pets, mice, and deer as hosts. Check your pets for ticks regularly and consult with your vet about topical tick treatments for prevention. Deter mice from entering your home by sealing gaps and cracks along the exterior. Keep curious deer at bay by using a greenhouse for your garden or installing other barriers.

Expert Tick Control Services: Keeping Your Property Tick-Free

Eliminating potential tick nesting areas can help control tick populations on your property. However, ticks are tiny, and it only takes one entering your home to risk an infestation. Effective pest control in Albany starts with Kanga Pest Control. We check every nook and cranny for pests and have a passion and reputation for making our customers happy. The greatest gift we can give through our specialized services is peace of mind. Contact us today to schedule an inspection and to learn more about our residential and commercial pest control services in Albany.