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During tick season, spending time outdoors can fuel your anxiety. When you never know when or where a tick will bite you, you're always on alert. Thankfully, there are tried and true ways to protect yourself from ticks, and one of the best ways to get ahead of these parasites is to learn a little bit about them. This way, you can go into your backyard or on your camping vacation prepared to take the proper steps to protect yourself.

Pest control in Connecticut is the best way to protect yourself from ticks, but learning more about local ticks and prevention methods is also important.

How Do Ticks Spread Diseases?

Ticks don't bite as other insects do. When they bite a host and consume their blood, ticks bury their heads in the skin. They drink blood over a period of a day or more, and during that time, the bacterium inside the tick can transfer to the host through the tick's saliva.

After becoming infected, a person may develop symptoms around the tick bite site, including rash, blotches, or bullseye rings. Shortly after symptoms develop on the skin, physical symptoms, generally a flu-like illness, begin. This can happen from a few days to a couple of weeks after the initial bite.

The most common diseases transmitted by ticks include Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis. Unfortunately, Connecticut's two most common ticks can spread these diseases.

Common Ticks In The Connecticut Area

There are several different species of ticks likely to spread diseases. The most common types of ticks in Connecticut are the black-legged deer tick and the American dog tick.

The black-legged deer tick is about â…› of an inch long and has a broad, flat oval shape. Like spiders, all ticks have eight legs. Deer ticks are also orangish brown or dark reddish-brown and can double in size after feeding. Male deer ticks are about half the size of females. This tick species is the primary transmitter of anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Lyme disease.

In contrast, the American dog tick is much bigger. Engorged females can grow to around ½ an inch. This species is brown with whitish or gray markings. They are also flat, oval shapes, but they are typically rounder than the deer tick. Unlike the deer tick, the dog tick transmits Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and tick paralysis.

Needless to say, ticks in Connecticut are dangerous parasites, and learning tick control and how to avoid them just might save you a lot of trouble.

The Six Best Ways To Get Rid Of & Prevent Ticks

Natural tick prevention and methods to get rid of ticks are often one and the same. If you want a tick-free home and yard, try these six techniques and prevent bites everywhere you go:

  1. Wear picaridin-based insect repellant over long-sleeved clothing, including long socks with your pants tucked inside.

  2. Keep your yard trimmed short, and when you're in the wilderness, avoid overgrown areas. 

  3. Stick to the path with your pet on walks, and keep them treated for fleas and ticks.

  4. Don't leave furniture in the yard, especially upholstered furniture in shaded areas.

  5. Keep stray dogs and wildlife away from your yard with fencing or other deterrents.

  6. Check yourself and your pets when coming in from outdoors and remove ticks promptly if you find one.

If you get bitten by a tick, the chances of contracting an illness increase the longer it is attached, so be careful to remove it properly by grabbing its head with tweezers and pulling it straight out. It's a good idea to see a doctor after a tick bite and send the tick to a tick testing service to check for disease.

Keep Ticks Out Of Your Yard Forever!

In some neighborhoods and climates, it is much harder to prevent ticks than in other areas. If you're having a hard time keeping ticks out of your yard, it's time to call for tick extermination services with Big Blue Bug Solutions. After your free inspection, your pest control professional will provide the best yard treatment for ticks available in Connecticut.

The best way to prevent bites in your own backyard is with Big Blue Bug Solutions. Don't wait until you discover a tick bite. Let us make your yard and home as safe as you always hoped they would be. Call Big Blue Bug Solutions today.

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