Lucas Beaumont
Ticks are a common little pest that people have battled with for centuries. In some cases, people take tricks more lightly than they should. These little fellows can carry serious disease for pets and humans alike.
Pets are more likely to have ticks latch onto their skin because they spend a lot of time outside, close to the grass, bushes and trees. Ticks hang out in these areas and wait for a host to happen by. People who spend a great deal of time outside, especially in wooded areas, will sometimes find ticks on them after a short time in the great outdoors. Humans and pets can then carry ticks into the home, on their skin or in their clothing, helping the pests move to other animals and family members.
Get Away From Disease
We should re-emphasize that ticks should never be taken lightly. Deer ticks can carry Lyme disease, a condition that can kill small pets and may even be life-threatening for humans. If you find a loose tick anywhere in the home, on your body or on a pet, pick it up carefully and wash it down the drain. You can even flush it down the toilet, but never just drop the tick into the trash.
You can reduce the chance of getting ticks by keeping the lawn mowed and keeping trees and bushes trimmed. When you spend some time outside or when a pet makes an outside journey, be sure to check carefully for ticks. Look closely around the ears and neck of a pet. Check yourself by focusing on socks, pant legs and shoes. Check your scalp as well.
Use Something from the Store
In addition to the prevention methods already mentioned you can repel ticks with a commercial product that is sprayed on. This won’t be a 100 percent cure but in some cases the chemicals in these products will discourage a tick from biting in and hanging on. If the tick doesn’t latch on it can’t fill itself with blood, which is its natural action.
Stores may also sell an insecticide that has permethrin as the active ingredient. You can kill ticks with this by putting a small amount on some cotton and placing in small tubes provided. The intent is to attract mice that will use the tubes for nesting. Ticks that come into contact with the rodents or other pets will be killed.
Many people are tempting to just yank a tick out when they see one on a pet or on their own body. But it is better to be patient. Get a good pair of tweezers, put the ends of the tweezers as close to the skin as possible and remove the tick with a steady pull. A quick tug on the tick’s body will leave the head in place and that is the part that is causing the problem. Don’t take ticks lightly. When you find one and remove it properly, flush it or burn it!
