As summer returns to Albany County, so do ticks. Unfortunately, our area is a hotbed of tick activity. If you visit the Pine Bush Preserve, you’ll find pamphlets with warnings about ticks and safe removal in boxes at the trailheads. We hear constant warnings on the news about preventing Lyme Disease. Our schools even teach our kids how to check for ticks after gym and recess. Sadly, your own backyard is not safe from ticks, either.

The good news is that there are ways you can prepare your Albany County property for the return of ticks. There are steps that homeowners can take against ticks. If that fails, Thomas Pest Services is ready to help you with a highly effective method for reducing tick activity on your property. 

What attracts ticks to certain areas?

Ticks need a blood meal to complete their maturation process. Without feeding, they will die. Naturally, they gravitate toward areas that provide them with plenty of hosts for feeding, typically wooded areas that are home to wildlife. Ticks are not particularly fussy when it comes to a meal. They will feed on mice and other rodents, birds, small mammals, deer, dogs, and humans. 

What is the seasonality for ticks?

Ticks can’t survive long at temperatures below freezing. Here in the Albany area, it’s why we don’t hear much about ticks in the winter. Once ticks find a home on a toasty warm animal, they can survive our cold, fall weather and our brutal, early spring, but not for long. Summer is when ticks thrive in the Capital District.  

Which steps can homeowners take against ticks?

There are several things homeowners can do to make their property less attractive to ticks:

• Reduce other wildlife on your property.

• Keep trash stored tightly in sealed trash receptacles.

• Use fencing to deter deer from hanging out and feeding on your garden or landscaping.

• Don’t feed wildlife, even birds.

• Keep your grass cut short.

• Use a barrier such as stone between your lawn and any wooded areas.

• Trim landscaping and keep overgrowth to a minimum.

Why should you call Thomas if your property is affected? 

At Thomas Pest Services we use a unique process for reducing ticks on your Albany County property. We utilize the Tick Box tick control system. These boxes have bait inside that attracts mice. The box has an insecticide that clings to mice without harming them. Mice then scurry around your property spreading the insecticide and effectively killing the ticks. We strategically place these tick boxes around your property to maximize their effectiveness. Contact us to reduce the risk of ticks on your property.