Like any pet owner, you want to keep fleas and ticks from bothering your pet and moving into your home. Infestations can take weeks or months to control. But by taking some precautions, you can prevent them from starting in the first place. Rising temperatures combined with a rainy spring have resulted in a strong flea and tick season this year. Summer brings lots of outdoor time like outdoor hikes, backyard fetch with your pet, and late-night chats around the firepit. You will want to enjoy all these fun times without fleas and ticks. In this post, we will give you tips on how to keep fleas and ticks off of your pet and out of your yard and house.
Keep Yard Cut and Trimmed
Dogs and cats generally get ticks because they’re out in the yard, if you have woods or high grass, ticks undergo what’s called questing, where they crawl up on these low shrubs or grass and hang out. When the dog walks by or we walk by and brush up against these ticks they dislodge and get onto us. They just lie in wait for us. It’s sort of an ambush strategy. They can live well over a year without feeding. Reduce their population by mowing and keeping your lawn well-trimmed. It is not just the grass you have to worry about. Ticks are also found in trees or tall brush. Keep shrubs around the yard trimmed and free of decaying leaves. Always rake away wood, brush, or leaves in the yard.
Hire a Professional
Fleas can come into your home on your pet or on your clothing. One female can turn into 1,000 over the course of just 21 days, so it’s important to attack the problem quickly. In addition to their irritating bites, fleas carry tapeworm eggs that can infect your pets or children. Scratching the bites can lead to infection and scarring. So sometimes you need help to protect your home from fleas and ticks. Hiring an professionals to maintain and spray your yard is key and then if they get inside you’ll need a professional cleaner.
Be Aware of Your Surroundings
Parks, picnic sites, your yard, and most recreational areas can be a home to ticks and fleas. A good thing to do if you suspect ticks in your yard is to take a piece of white flannel and drag it across an area of the yard. Ticks will attach and be visible on the white flannel cloth.
Purchase a Flea and Tick Collar for Your Pets
Flea and tick collars slowly release the pesticide to provide pest control over an extended period of time. There are a few downsides to the collars. One is if your dog chews on his collar he could ingest pesticides. And a University of Nebraska study has shown that pesticide residues from the flea and tick collar can remain in the pet’s fur exposing the pet and owners to pesticides.
Monitor Your Pet’s Bedding
Maintain control of your dog’s sleeping area to one space in the home. Clean the bedding area weekly. Us a pet treatment in the house and yard treatment to maintain a pest-free yard.
If Your Pet Has Fleas or Ticks
If your pet has fleas or tick, get ready to clean. The weekly cleaning of pet bedding and the surrounding area can remove eggs and immature fleas before they become adults. The following steps can help control indoor flea infestations.
- Special Shampoos, Soaps, or Mild Detergents – Treat pets with a flea treatment. Washing and shampooing your dog can also help remove skin flakes and dried blood that can provide food to developing fleas.
- Vacuum – Thoroughly vacuum pet bedding and the surrounding area including floors, carpets furniture, and seat cushions.
- Wash Bedding – Use hot soapy water to wash the bedding or better yet discard and replace it.
- Comb – Use a comb to remove fleas from your pet’s fur. After removing, drop the fleas into soapy water.
- If Still Present – If fleas are still present, clean all the areas again in two weeks.
Our Flea & Tick Control Services
Our 3 Step Program will ensure the removal of these pests safely and efficiently. Treatments are provided at the height of the season while they are active in order to eradicate the highest population. The entire property will receive a perimeter application while concentrating on more prone areas such as wood lines. Once fleas and ticks find their way onto your pet or your body or into your home, you’ve got a problem. We help you minimize the flea and tick population in your lawn by advising you on the following…
- Remove leaf litter
- Clear tall grasses and brush around homes and at the edge of lawns
- Place a 3-ft wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas to restrict tick migration into recreational areas
- Mow the lawn frequently
- Stack wood neatly and in a dry area (discourages rodents)
- Keep playground equipment, decks, and patios away from yard edges and trees.
- Discourage unwelcome animals (such as deer, raccoons, and stray dogs) from entering your yard by constructing fences.
- Remove old furniture, mattresses, or trash from the yard that may give fleas & ticks a place to hide.
- Apply nematodes to your lawn to control the pest population
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About A & A Lawn Care & Landscaping
A & A Lawn Care & Landscaping can beautify your lawn and landscaping using our vast experience in turf grass management. Our complete lawn service is designed for both residential and commercial lawns and we keep your lawn healthy without harming your family, staff, or pets.