Over the past few years, ticks have been getting progressively more coverage in the news, and for good reason. Climate change is rapidly changing our known environments and species’ traditional territories on a global scale. In North America, and particularly the U.S., warmer temperatures are creeping into higher latitudes where cooler temperatures used to keep tick populations in check. Warm, humid, southern U.S. climates are what we typically associate with tick habitat, but mild winters have allowed ticks to expand northward and into areas where people are unfamiliar with the dangers ticks pose to human health. As a disease vector, ticks are responsible for the spread of Lyme disease, and if you know anything about this disease, you know that it isn’t something to be trifled with. Currently, there is no vaccine available to help people avoid tick-borne diseases, but there is reason to be hopeful. In a study recently conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, results suggest that their early-stage vaccine could allow bite victims to recognize that they’ve been bitten within moments.

Why is noticing when a tick bites you important? Ticks can latch onto you for up to 10 days, and it only takes 16 to 48 hours for the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease to be transmitted to the victim. At this point, a bullseye-shaped welt typically forms on the skin. In the results of the study, the skin of guinea pigs that had been bitten became red within moments, creating both a visual cue for a tick bite as well as potential discomfort. If we noticed tick bites like we do for mosquitoes, we would immediately know where to look for an attached tick. In addition, results of the study indicate that ticks fed less voraciously and for less time on vaccinated guinea pigs. While such results are clearly promising, we can’t currently rely on this vaccine. However, there are other ways to shield against Lyme disease.

Fairfield Tick Control has you covered

Although a Lyme disease vaccine is probably well down the road, powerful tick control is at your fingertips with the expert services at Mosquito Squad. While you might think that vaccines are the most effective defense against diseases, the best defense of all is not encountering a disease in the first place. This ideal is synonymous with our mission. What makes tick control possible? Our most popular treatment option is our border protection treatment, which comes in our original and naturalformulas for long-lasting tick defense. Per our recommendations, this mist is applied around every two weeks to protect your perimeter from marauding ticks, and it is an effective pesticide when applied directly to tick hot spots on your property.

For an every-season treatment, we also offer tick tubes, a simple yet innovative tick control method. Tick tubes are biodegradable tubes that are installed in your yard and filled with pesticide-treated cotton. Mice absolutely love to use cotton in their nests, and they greedily gather our cotton to install in their homes. While the pesticide is not harmful to mice, it is deadly to the ticks that like to huddle in mice nests for the winter. Mice are known to carry one of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, and by eliminating the ticks that enjoy mice blood, you are far less likely to be bitten by a tick that carries the disease.

For all your tick control needs, look no further than Mosquito Squad. Lyme disease vaccines aren’t here yet, but we are here to help with our robust tick control programs. Give us a call at (203) 275-0078.