How To Treat Your Yard For Fleas & Ticks
If your dog or cat spends time outside, it is important to treat the area for fleas & ticks. Even if you have treated your pet and home thoroughly, a quick visit outside could mark the beginning of a new infestation inside. Of course, completely removing fleas from your backyard isnt possible, but you can reduce the number of fleas your beloved pet encounters while spending time outside.
The most important thing to remember when fighting an outdoor flea infestation is that these external parasites love shade. With this fact in mind, start by removing any debris, such as dirt or leaf piles, that could be providing pests with a safe haven from the sun. Mow your grass, pull up weeds, and trim any overgrown trees or bushes. The shorter your grass and the sunnier your yard, the fewer places fleas can lurk.
Next, use Zodiac® Yard & Garden Spray in the following spots:
- Around the dog house or outdoor kennel
- Shady areas under trees
- Your pets potty spot
- Any other area of your yard where your pet spends time regularly
While you can greatly reduce the number of fleas outside your house by following these steps, you cant treat your neighbors yards or the woods. A fence can be helpful for keeping wildlife away from your yard, but remember that fleas can also catch rides on birds, squirrels, and outdoor cats, which can easily enter your outdoor space despite this barrier. Inevitably, some fleas will find their way back into your yard.
What To Avoid When Controlling Fleas In Your Yard
Whether you opt for a natural treatment for fleas or go with a chemical alternative, its important to know whats safe to use around your pets. Before treating your yard, make sure to discuss the potential dangers with your veterinarian.
Many of the pesticides on the market used for flea control contain organophosphates, and this class of chemicals is a nerve poison, Catron warns. Overexposure can cause skin irritation on pets and also affect the cholinesterase levels in their blood leading to serious sickness.
Its also important to be aware of other types of synthetic materials which may contain pyrethroids, which can affect the skin and respiratory systems of pets and humans alike, Catron adds.
And while youre talking to your veterinarian about safe yard treatment options, make sure you also ask about appropriate flea preventatives for your pet. Treating all the animals in your home as well as their environment is the best way to get rid of fleas.
Image: otsphoto via Shutterstock
Are There Any Tick Repellents To Avoid If You Have Pets
If you have cats, think twice about using permethrin. Permethrin is used as a spray to protect dogs and people from tick bites, but high doses are very harmful to cats. Cats are especially sensitive to permethrin, as they seem to be unable to metabolize permethrin like other mammals can. Sprays for dogs have too much permethrin for cats, and some cats are so sensitive that even brushing up against a dog thats been treated can cause tremors, seizures, or even death.
Dogs too can be sensitive to high doses of permethrin, so its best to skip the DIY and get a product specially labelled for dog use.
This doesnt mean that you shouldnt use permethrin at all, as the benefits of avoiding tick-borne disease in you and your pets may outweigh the risks, but you should be cautious.
If you decide to use permethrin spray:
Also Check: How To Make Your Lawn Nice
S To Get Rid Of Ticks
Prevention essentially relies on reducing encounters with infected ticks primarily black-legged ticks . This requires a multi-faceted approach focusing on reducing localized tick populations through both environmental changes and targeted insecticides. Follow this easy 5-step guide to get rid of ticks from your yard.
You May Like: Spectracide Weed Stop Concentrate Mixing Instructions
How To Keep Ticks Away
If you want to keep ticks out of your house, there are a few key things you need to do:
It may seem like a lot of work, but these steps will help ensure that you and your loved ones are safe from the potential health risks that come with a tick problem.
- How long do ticks live?
Some ticks take up to three years to complete their full lifecycle. Depending on the tick, they can cause health issues throughout this time.
- What is Lyme disease?
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria spread by ticks. This disease causes flu like symptoms and rashes, and can spread to the heart, nervous system and joints.
- What ticks cause Lyme disease?
Ixodes ticks, also called black-legged ticks and deer ticks, carry Lyme disease. These ticks can be found throughout parts North America.
- Why are tick populations going up?
Tick populations are increasing globally due to warmer temperatures, habitat loss, and international animal trade.
Read Also: Does Home Depot Recycle Old Lawn Mowers
Three: Bid Them Farewell For Good
Now that youve taken away all the mosquitos favorite attractions in your lawn, there a few extra steps you can take to make your lawn the last place these pests want to spend their time.
Add the right plants to your garden. Did you know those citronella candles that are so popular for repelling mosquitoes are actually derived from citronella plants? Mosquitoes tend to avoid areas with citronella, catnip, lavender, marigolds, basil, or peppermint, which makes these plants a great addition to your yard.
Treat your yard for mosquitoes and other insects. Sometimes, even after you remove the mosquitos favorite vacation spots, youll still keep seeing mosquito bites! Thankfully, there are insecticides specifically for these instances. If you and your family spend a lot of time in the yard, consider treating for mosquitoes regularly.
How To Remove Ticks
Don’t Miss: Is It Too Late To Fertilize My Lawn In June
Creating A Safe Space:
There are certain steps you can take to reduce tick habitats in your yard, prior to spraying for ticks and make outdoor areas safer for your family. Creating a safe space from ticks means a little bit of effort, but youll reap the rewards all season long.
First, a cleanup! Make sure that you rake your yard, removing leaf litter and old mulch material from last season. These are places that ticks love to hide, as do mice and other creatures that carry ticks. Making your yard inhospitable to tick hosts means making it safer for you and your family.
Next, keep your grass trimmed. Ticks hitch a ride on people and pets by hanging out on tall grass and hedges and waiting for you to walk by and brush against them. If you keep bushes trimmed back and grass cut short youre less likely to encounter them.
Do you have wooded areas on your property? Create a protective zone made of gravel or small wood chips to keep ticks from migrating into the lawn, and teach your kids to stay inside the lines! Make sure your playground equipment and any yard furniture is well within that zone. Fleas and ticks love to hide in cracks and crevices and, if you let them, theyll take up residence in your chair cushions.
Use fencing to discourage wildlife from entering your property. They may seem cute, but they bring along ticks and often carry disease in their feces.
How To Get Rid Of Fleas In The Yard
Fleas can be a serious problem. They can cause itching and allergic reactions, transmit diseases, and if theyre really severe, cause serious blood loss and illness. You should do your best to keep your pet protected from fleas.
But complete protection against fleas means not only treating your pet but also your home and your yard.
In addition to using a safe and effective flea control product on your pet, do simple things like washing pet bedding, keeping the yard clear, and keeping the grass short to get rid of fleas.
Recommended Reading: How To Do Your Own Lawn Care
Why Should I Be Worried About Pests In My Yard
Many pests lurking in your yard can lead to much bigger problems. Ticks can carry many diseases that can be transmitted to both you and your pets. These include diseases such as Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Flea infestations end up in your drapery, carpets, furniture, and more importantly in your pets. More severe cases of flea infestation can cause anemia or even death in some cases.
Where Do Ticks Live
The CDC has found ticks living in all 48 contiguous U.S. states. The good news for homeowners is that ticks prefer to live in overgrown foliage rather than well-maintained yards, so some simple preventative measures will greatly reduce the likelihood of an infestation.
Generally, ticks prefer to feed on animals, so they live where the likelihood of latching onto an animal is greatest. This usually means the border zones between forests and more open areas. If your yard borders a wooded area, you should take active steps to prevent ticks from invading. Luckily, the steps for getting rid of ticks and preventing them from coming back are reasonably simple.
Read Also: Where To Dispose Lawn Mower
What Diseases Are Spread By Ticks
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists sixteen different tick-borne diseases that occur in the United States.2 Tick-borne diseases can result in mild symptoms treatable at home to severe infections requiring hospitalization. Although easily treated with antibiotics, these diseases can be difficult for physicians to diagnose. Early recognition and treatment decreases the risk of serious complications.3 Following is a list of seven fairly common tick-borne illnesses, their incubation periods and symptoms.
The most important step in preventing tick-borne disease is to prevent tick bites. Always use bug repellent when heading into tick country. DEET, the same active ingredient in bug repellents that protect against mosquitoes, is also the best to use against ticks. Use it according to label directions. For pets, each species has its own unique needs, so you should consult your vet for the best advice.
How To Get Rid Of Ticks In Your House
The Spruce / Katie Kerpel
Ticks are parasitic arachnids that survive by feeding on the blood of a variety of animals, including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Ticks like to hang out in wooded or brushy areas and attach themselves to animals and humans that brush against them. Various types of ticks are spread throughout North America. Ticks transmit a number of serious diseases and in some cases can also cause allergies and anemia.
Recommended Reading: Where To Buy Lawn Turf
Use A Cedar Oil Spray
One of our favorite natural tick repellents is cedar oil spray. Cedar oil is a natural, non-toxic, effective tick repellent. If youre going out hiking, you can spray it directly on your skin or clothing.
Its safe for use on humans and pets.
While you can buy cedar oil tick spray at most home and garden stores, you can also make your own by mixing 60 drops of cedarwood essential oil into a dark-colored spray bottle filled with water and 1 ounce of grain alcohol.
Shake the mixture well and spray anywhere youve noticed tick activity.
Keep Grass Mowed Below Four Inches
One of the top tick habitats is long grass, especially near woodland edges, where the grass not only provides shade and moisture but also provides a handy ladder for climbing up to reach potential hosts. Long grass can also attract mice, rodents, rabbits and deer, who use the long grass as camouflage while also feeding the current ticks or bringing in new ticks.
Short grass exposes ticks to more heat and dry air, while not providing such a nice habitat for other woodland creatures.
This doesnt mean that you cant keep your cool-season lawn longer to deepen the roots and improve the resiliency of your lawn. Just keep it to 3 inches, which is enough to provide all the benefits.
If you let the grass on out-of-the-way places on your property grow long to avoid unnecessary labour, just keep out children and pets, always wear long clothes and tick-repellent when walking through the area, and check for ticks.
Read Also: What Is The Best Lawn Mower To Buy
Why Is Effective Tick Control Important
Tick problems dont go away on their own they multiply. Ticks that carry the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease typically lay eggs in batches of 3,000 or more. Some types of ticks lay up to 15,000 eggs before they die.1 Untreated ticks may live for several years, and some types can even live indoors.No U.S. region is free from the threat of ticks and tick-transmitted disease. Across the country, tick populations and diseases are on the rise.2 Reactions to tick bites range from mild itching to serious, even deadly conditions, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, tick-induced paralysis and Powassan virus.3
Ticks bites can be painful and potentially dangerous.
You May Like: Thistledown Weed Killer
What Are Flea And Tick Lawn Treatments
You can easily pick up a flea treatment for your dog or cat and administer it regularly. However, for added protection for other family members in your household, lawn treatments that specifically target flea and tick activity are beneficial. For residents in Florida, lawn treatments for fleas and ticks can lead to a drastic decrease in these pests.
Read Also: When To Dethatch In Minnesota
You May Like: How To Improve Lawn Grass
How To Choose The Right Product For You
Every job requires the right product to take down the pest. If you are dealing with a tick problem in your backyard, you want to know that you are picking the right spray to take care of them. Not each spray is right for every situation, so we want to help you make that decision. In this section, we are going to break down the different types of sprays in more detail to help you make that decision.
A& A Provides Flea And Tick Control
We understand that fertilization and weed control are only part of a healthy turf program. We will also assess your lawn for a variety of dangerous pests like fleas and ticks that will potentially damage your turf and harm your family. Contact us today to find out how we can keep you, your family, and your pets safe from fleas and ticks.
Contact Us for a Free Consultation!
Recommended Reading: How To Kill Grasshoppers In Lawn
Remove Leaf Debris Around Woodland Edges
Raking leaves to the edge of your woodland-adjacent property is a common practice, but [one study found that this practice can TRIPLE the number of deer ticks come spring. This is because woodland edges, where shrubs and lawn meet, is prime tick habitat and leaf litter helps deer ticks survive the winter.
But dont throw away your fallen leaves just yet. You can still benefit from this carbon source by:
Fleas Thrive In Warm Weather
While fleas can be found on your cat or dog year-round, they tend to cause more issues during the spring, summer and fall. This can be due to the warmer climates and fleas breeding habits. Fleas develop in protected microhabitats such as crawl spaces under structures, vegetation next to the house, pet bedding, dog houses, and places that create high humidities, explains Dr. Michael K. Rust, Ph.D. of the University of California, Riverside.
Phil Catron the President of NaturaLawn of America, adds that fleas are very active between the temperature range of 70-85 degrees, coupled with 70+ percent humidity, which explains why the pest battle heats up during warmer months.
But keep in mindfleas dont disappear when the temperature drops. Flea pupae in their cocoons can stay dormant for up to a year in lower temperatures.
Recommended Reading: Is Organic Lawn Care Worth It
Regular Yard Maintenance Will Help To Repel Ticks In Yard
Mow your grass regularly so it wont be a haven for ticks. If possible use a catcher on the mower that removes the grass clippings so they wont attract ticks.
Remove garden refuse away from the most often used area of the yard. Trim trees of dead branches and remove piles of old leaves. Any untended areas of a yard can attract ticks.
Barriers such as a foot of bark chip or rocks around yard in common areas will make it harder for ticks to enter from the woody areas nearby.
Try not to have standing water near wooded areas. These will attract ticks. Remember to keep bird baths clean and free of refuse.
Signs Of Ticks In Your Home
Unfortunately, because of their size, it can be difficult to find ticks inside until they have had a blood meal or become an ongoing issue.
Ticks like to hide in the woods, brush and tall grass where they clump together or hang out alone and wait for an animal to unknowingly pick them up.
As much as you may want them to go away for good, that’s not going to happen. Habit may tell you to run for the chemical sprays, but overuse of chemical treatments causes environmental and health risks and won’t get rid of ticks for good.
If you live in an area where ticks are known to be present outside , it is absolutely essential to know how to inspect for ticks, and to do so on a regular basis.
Kerrick/E+
Recommended Reading: Why Do I Have Moss In My Lawn
