Do any of your pets scratch their bodies like their life depends on it? Have you seen them frolicking around only to stop to claw their ears and body? If so, they may have fleas on them. Fleas and ticks are common external parasites that feed on our pets’ blood and live under their fur.
Often, pets get fleas from socializing with infected pets or wildlife, at the nearby dog park, or even at your own home. Furthermore, these parasites can cause myriads of diseases suh as Lyme disease, murine typhus, or anaplasmosis. Hence, it’s up to us pet owners to protect our pets and our families by eradicating pests that may harm our loved ones.
Does Your Home Have a Flea/Tick Infestation?
One thing you should look out for when checking if your home has any flea or tick infestation is your pets. Large ticks can be felt through your pets’ fur and are highly noticeable when you comb through their hair. However, if you have any deer nearby, particularly deer that wanders to your yard, your pet might catch deer ticks from an infested yard. Deer ticks are more challenging to see than traditional ticks since they’re smaller. Hence, you should stay alarmed for any repetitive scratching and get a flea comb ready to check for nasty fleas and ticks.
Flea/Tick Treatment for Pets
To completely rid your home from ticks and fleas, you should simultaneously remove and mitigate them both from your pet and your yard. Thankfully, removing these pesky parasites from your pets is more accessible since we have products that are tailored to remove ticks on dogs or cats. These treatment methods can be taken orally or by applying the product to their fur. It’s best to consult a veterinarian if you’re unsure of what products to use for your pets.
Once you have a suitable flea/tick medication for your pets, your next goal should be getting rid of fleas and ticks in your home, particularly the yard. Below are several tips to make your yard tick-free.
How to Get Rid of Fleas and Ticks in Your Yard
Whom Will You Call? A Pest Exterminator
Often, the easiest way to get rid of an infestation is by calling pest extermination services to do it for you. After all, pests can still linger and thrive in your yard despite plenty of precautions. Sometimes, you need to use powerful equipment designed for pest control which are unavailable at your local pet supply store. Hence, hiring a pest exterminator is your next best bet.
Pest exterminators are trained to eliminate your house off ticks and fleas while creating preventive measures so pests won’t breed in your yard anymore. They will inspect your home and yard thoroughly and provide recommendations to prevent fleas and ticks from returning. It’s best to have regular pest control if you’re near wildlife to avoid flea and tick infestation from occurring.
Keep Your Yard Trimmed and Tidy
Fleas despise sunlight and prefer humid areas in your yard. If you keep your lawn trimmed, more sunlight will reach the ground, making it drier and hotter, which will prevent fleas from thriving. Cutting your property also deters ticks by reducing hiding spots in which they love to live.
Furthermore, it’s essential to situate trees, plants, and shrubs away from your house to prevent animal invasion. Wild animals such as opossums, deer, and raccoon are carriers of ticks and fleas. If they find a way to your home through gaps, crawl spaces, or holes, your yard might get a flea infestation. Hence, throw away trash regularly, seal cracks, and don’t leave food outside to prevent wildlife invasions.
Chemical and Natural Solutions for Your Yard
Nematodes, or microscopic worms, are the flea’s natural predators. By applying nematodes with a spray or a nematode spreader to your yard, you can have a natural way to deter and kill fleas and ticks. Nematodes actively eat adult and young fleas by inserting toxins in the pest that kills them shortly. Plus, nematodes reproduce naturally, and their effect lasts for several months.
Another natural solution for your pest problem is abrading agents like diatomaceous earth. These products are spread thoroughly on your lawn and kill fleas by drying their bodies through their chemical properties. A natural grade diatomaceous earth works best under dry conditions. Hence, it’s best to use it if you don’t experience rain often.
Chemical solutions are often the last resort when you’re experiencing major pest infestation. Furthermore, consider hiring pest exterminators if you’re not familiar with applying chemicals. If you’re dead set on using chemical solutions, look for products designed to kill pests in your environment. Outdoor chemical solutions are classified on what weather with which it works. Hence, if you live in a humid area, buy outdoor chemicals that work best in the rain.
When ridding your house of fleas and ticks, remember to consult a veterinarian before use. Furthermore, some chemicals are dangerous to pets when ingested. Hence, please take caution when using them.
