Ticks place themselves on the ends of branches or leaves, normally along pathways where there is a steady traffic of people or animals or people walking by.

Once a person brushes past a shrub or bush where a tick is, they will use their barbed snouts to leave a tiny incision in your skin.

Then, they insert their head to suck your blood. Once the head is inserted in the skin, pulling on the tick will only separate the head from the body, leaving the head embedded in your skin.

This means that you can’t get rid of the tick unless the head is out. Ticks cause Lyme disease Ticks are a big problem because they can carry a serious disease called Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that will first manifest itself by symptoms such as fever, depression, headaches, fatigue, and a circular skin rash. If Lyme disease isn’t identified early, later symptoms may affect your heart, joints, and nervous system.

However, if you notice the infection early on, taking antibiotics will typically eliminate the problem.

Wearing light-colored and tight clothing is ideal when going outdoors in preventing ticks. Make sure that your clothing covers your arms and legs.

The light color will help you to identify a tick if it tries to attach itself. Tight clothing is recommended since it makes it more difficult for a tick to cling to your clothing.

Try to identify the types of plants that are on the pathway. Familiarize yourself with the different types of plants that animals that are native to the area avoid.

Generally, if animals avoid pathways, ticks will usually be scarce in that location. Use insect repellent or natural repelling oils. Make it a habit to use insect repellent on your skin and clothes to avoid ticks.

This will help discourage ticks from clinging to you. Another good repellent is eucalyptus oil or Neem oil. Ticks hate the smell of both of these oils and it will discourage them from clinging to your skin.

Check for ticks periodically while you are hiking It is a good practice to periodically check your clothing and skin for ticks as you hike. This will help you brush off any ticks before they cling to you.

The proper way to remove ticks that are attached If you find a tick that has already embedded its head into your skin, don’t panic. Get a lighter or match and heat up a small piece of metal such as a needle.

Once the metal is hot, place the needle on the end of the tick’s buttocks.

This will cause the tick to alarm and pull its head out of your skin. Whatever you do, do not pull the tick out before the head is free, the head will simply detach from the body. It is much more difficult to remove the head once it’s embedded in the skin.

We all want to take care of our pets as well as we possibly can. Whenever we can care for ailments or conditions which affect our pets naturally, we should always do so. This is why we get rid of fleas in the house as much as possible.

There are times when even the cleanest house has a problem with fleas. The time of the year it is plays a large role with fleas causing issues and there are times when they simply can’t be avoided.

Fortunately, there are several things we can do to help eliminate fleas from our home and on our pets as well as a number of things we can do to prevent them from happening in the future.

A very good practice to help our pet not to be so attractive to fleas is by adding plenty of nutritional brewer’s yeast and garlic to their food each day. Use one teaspoon to two tablespoons of yeast to each meal, depending on the size of your pet.

If fleas are a problem in your home, you should have all the carpets steamed cleaned by a professional service. Make sure to inform the company about the fleas as there are special treatments they have to help the problem. Steam cleaning the carpets will kill the flea eggs.

Vacuum the furniture and carpet thoroughly for at least once a week. This will take care of eliminating flea eggs, larvae, and pupae. The vacuum’s tool attachment does excellently clean any crevices.

If the infestation is heavy in the home, purchase a dog flea collar or Indestructible Dog Collars and place it in the vacuum cleaner’s bag. This way the fleas can’t escape from the bag.

Be sure to remove the bag after each vacuum session and dispose of it immediately outdoors. Simultaneously, mop any tile and vinyl and floors. Vacuum the pets bedding at least twice a week.

Any of the bedding that is machine washable, be sure to wash them once a week. The bedding must be washed in hot water and dried on maximum heat in the dryer. The reason for this is heat kills fleas as well as flea eggs.

Since it’s possible for fleas to fall out of the bedding on your way to the laundry room, roll the bedding up to prevent this. Give your pet a bath with a natural, non-toxic, flea-controlling shampoo.

The shampoo can be found at natural food stores. You can also add 1/4 teaspoon to 2 tablespoons of raw whole garlic to each meal you feed your pet. Make sure the garlic has been grated or minced.

If steam cleaning the carpets is still not helpful, you could try treating the carpets with a borax-like powder that reduces the flea population.

For a better home living with your pets, call in your local pest control company to help you get rid of fleas.

Ticks are parasites, small, flat, dark colored, and oval in shape that feed on blood. They transmit deadly diseases to animals and humans alike.

A tick feels like a little bump on your dog’s skin when you run your hands over its body. Some ticks are very tiny and easy to overlook until they have fed and are full of blood. This happens when they have been feeding for days. So it’s very important give your dog an inspection for ticks after taking outdoor excursions in wooded or tall grasses areas. This should be done immediately you get home from your excursion because most tick borne diseases need a tick to feed for a few hours to be able to transmit infection.

So the risk of transmission is low if the ticks are located and removed promptly. Check your dog’s head, feet, ears, armpits and in between the toes thoroughly by running your hands over your canine’s body. See if you can feel any swollen areas or bumps because many times ticks are hidden under the fur and not readily visible. If your dog has light colored fur it is easy to spot a dark protrusion from the skin. If found, the tick will most likely have started feeding and will be engorged with the bite site looking red and irritated. When you are done checking your dog, inspect yourself for ticks also since ticks can transfer to you too.

Tick bite

Ticks are disgusting and a tick bite can transmit diseases. Being a dog owner it important to know symptoms of tick borne diseases. One also needs to know how to prevent and remove ticks and also how to handle tick bites.

Ticks transmit diseases which include:

• Rocky mountain spotted fever
• Tick paralysis
• Lyme disease

These diseases present symptoms which include lethargy and fever. Also lameness, anaemia and joint swelling. A clumsy gait which moves on to paralysis might occur with Tick paralysis. After ticks are removed the paralysis gradually disappears.

If your dog has been bitten and starts exhibiting signs of illness call on a veterinarian pronto for testing and proper diagnosis so treatment can begin.

Why ticks bite

Ticks are parasites that feed on their host’s blood. They are attracted to movement and will attach themselves to dogs, cats, cows, people and other mammals. After the tick egg hatches, the larva in order to grow into the next stages of nymph and adult must have blood meals throughout. It must have blood to survive.

Tick removal

You will need a pair of fine point tweezers to remove ticks from your dog. After locating the tick, clamp down on it carefully as close as possible to the dogs skin. With gentle pressure pull straight out until the tick loosens its grip and get it off the skin. Don’t grip it too tightly otherwise you run the risk of the tick rapturing and releasing pathogens. Clean the wound using alcohol and apply a topical antibiotic on it.

Prevention of tick bites

Inspect your dog every time you come in from outdoor excursions. Ask your veterinarian for tick bite preventative medication that suits your breed of dog. Clear the area around your house of shrubbery and long grass to deny ticks safe haven.

The brown dog tick is found all over the world. It is the most widespread tick species globally. It’s found among tall grass where dogs and other animals frequent. It gets its name because of its distinctive red brown-color and the fact that it primarily infests domestic dogs.

Both adult male and female brown dog ticks have a flare body and are uniformly reddish brown. They are also of the same size with very small pits on the back. When the adult females feed on blood, their bodies swell to several times their initial size. The engorged body turns gray blue but the head, mouth and legs stay red-brown. The males take small blood meals and maintain their size even after feeding.

Dogs most likely acquire a few  brown dog ticks from already infested residences, grooming facilities and veterinary clinics and bring them back home. At this early stage of infestation the ticks are only on the dog and are easy to miss. After the female brown dog ticks lay eggs and they hatch, their population explodes. One female can lay a mind boggling 4000 to 7000 eggs. Ticks crawling on draperies and on the walls are the first sure signs that the dog owner has an infestation problem that needs to be dealt with.

Brown dog tick eggs are dark brown in color and round. The larvae are about 0.56mm in body length and have six legs. Nymphs have eight legs as do adults and look the same but are smaller and don’t have any patterns on the back.

Life cycle

The brown dog tick feeds only once during each active stage that is, larva, nymph and adult. It then drops from the host to digest the ingested blood to lay eggs or molt. Brown dog ticks mate on the host’s body after a blood meal. After feeding on the host for about seven days an adult female will leave the host and look for a quiet hidden place to lay and incubate her eggs for about a fortnight. Cracks on the walls, carpet edges in houses would be ideal locations. She will start laying her eggs from the fourth day after leaving her host and can go on laying for up to eighteen days. After she finishes laying her eggs the female dies.

Six to twenty three days after, the larvae hatch and start looking for a host. The seeking activity causes a lot of visible tick movement towards dogs thus alerting the dog owner to the infestation.

Larvae will feed for about fifteen days and leave the dog. After seven days to a fortnight the larvae develop into nymphs. The nymphs latch on to another host and feed for about thirteen days and there after they drop from the dog. They develop into adults after two weeks. If breeding pattern is not interrupted, you dog will suffer from a lot of distress.

Infestation management

The brown dog tick mostly latches onto dog’s ears, head, between toes, and the back. When preventing or managing a tick infestation it is important to check these areas.

To prevent home infestation, seal all crevices and cracks. Keep grass and weeds short. Kill ticks on furniture using steam and use hot water to wash dog beds and set dryer on high heat.

Conclusion

Getting a pest controller involved as soon as you see the first signs of infestations is crucial. A pest officer will kill employ mitigation methods that ensure eggs, nymphs and adult alike are killed breaking the breeding cycle effectively.

Fleas can be very tough to treat in any situation, but your pets play a major role in appropriate Phoenix flea control. Flea exterminators know and fully understand this, but many people don’t realize that virtually all flea infestations involve a pet.

There are several steps to take as you prepare for your treatment. You need to pick up everything. Get papers and everything off the floor. Every inch of the floor or the carpet needs to be cleaned. To have the most effective flea control strategy, make sure you clean up ahead of time.

You also need to vacuum the house. You should vacuum the house repeatedly. Your home is infested because the fleas are infested on your pet and in the floor. It is very important that you vacuum as much as possible as you are fighting the infestation.

One of the most important aspects of the flea control strategy is getting your pets treated. All dogs and cats that reside in the home have to be treated. This is not an option. Pets are the hosts for fleas, so they need to be taken to the veterinarian for professional treatment.

You will want to take them to the vet the same day you treat your home with flea control products. You do not want to re-introduce a pet back into a home that has not been treated for fleas.

The pets get the best flea treatment at the veterinarian. You can get the best products to treat for fleas at an authorized pest control dealer website.

One of the worst places you can go to get products for treating for fleas is at your local grocery or home improvement store. While they will often sell products that are advertised for flea control, the products are not as strong as what you can find online.

You can find more specialized treatments at approved internet pest control websites.

You will want to use an Insect Growth Regulator inside the home. These Insect Growth Regulators, also known as an IGR, will kill stop the life stages of the flea. They will first kill the fleas present in the home.

Over a couple of weeks, the eggs will hatch for the next life cycle. The new fleas will come in contact with the residual IGR, and they will die before they can start another generation of fleas. This is how the flea treatment stops the infestation.

As long as the pets have been treated, this will completely eliminate the infestation.

The best flea treatment includes products like Talstar Pro Liquid Concentrate and Archer Insect Growth Regulator.

These products are labeled for other general household pests too, but they are labeled for use with an effective flea treatment. There are other treatments you can try too.

However, flea removal services by your local pest company can do a wonderful job in treating your home of all flea infestation once and for all.

Depending on where you live, flea bites can be seasonal. If you live where winters are cold, then they infest homes and animals during the warmer months. If you live where it is mild climate all year, then the flea invasions and other burrowing insects occur throughout the entire year.

Fleas are a very cultured insect. They can live where ever they have a blood host to feed off of, either animal or man.

They live in both wild and domestic animals. Some have a preference host, but any blood host will keep them fed. Fleas will get on your animals and catch a ride into your home.

Once in your home, they will quickly multiply. The fleas infest your furniture, bedding, and carpets. When you are walking, sitting, or sleeping they attack you leaving groups of bites on your body.

Flea bites tend to be grouped together because the flea tends to stay in one area for random feeding. The most commonly found on your legs and ankles, because they jump from the floor to your legs.

However, if they are on furniture the bites can also be found on your face and arms. Most flea bites are small red firm bumps. Some bites get small or large blisters in the middle of the bumps.

They tend to be very itchy, especially to those that are sensitive. Young children and sensitive adults tend to react to flea bites with the large blisters.

As with other insects, fleas can be attracted to some people more so than others.

Getting rid of these gregarious insects is not an easy task. The pesticide bombs and sprays sold in stores for the do it yourself approach are not effective and require a tremendous amount of work.

Most sprays and bombs require you to wash all fabric, kitchenware, and any surfaces once the treatment is complete. Once you have treated your home and washed every surface of its contents and give your pet’s flea treatments, nothing is more frustrating than finding that the fleas still share your humble abode and continue to feast on your ankles.

Most of the home treatments do not kill the flea eggs. When you think the fleas have been exterminated and your home is safe, a few days later the flea eggs hatch. Then to your surprise, you find more flea bites on your legs from the new generation.

To get rid of the flea bite problem in your home you need to hire a professional flea treatment service and take your animals to be professionally treated.

This is the most efficient way to rid your home of these pesky critters that continue to leave flea bites on you and your pets.

An expert pest control service can evaluate your individual flea bite problem and provide you with a quick safe solution that will guarantee your flea bite issue is gone for good.

Deer ticks can be found in grasses on lawns, and thrive on moist, shady areas.

This minuscule little mite usually brings havoc to anyone unlucky enough to get bitten by it. Because of its nasty habit of needing fresh blood to survive, if the host happens to be a human, this is where the problems begin.

Indeed, these creatures only eat three times in their lives, and their life span is around two years. When they are changing from the larval stage into the nymph state (young tick) and then when they change from the nymph stage to the adult stage.

The last feed comes when they want to lay their eggs. After this, they die off and the whole cycle begins again.

But if these have had any contact at all with a carrier of Lyme disease on the first feeding, they will inject this disease into their host on the second and third.

In humans, this can show itself in a variety of ways which includes symptoms like paralysis of the face, palpitations and neurological disorders. Indeed, the symptoms do not really form a recognized pattern so doctors have a hard time working out what is wrong with the patient.

People affected normally include those who have gone camping in the North East in particular since the eggs are normally amongst dried leaves on the ground.

Of course, everyone is familiar with the common dog and cat ticks which normally bloat up once they are feeding on the animal, but these deer ticks are no bigger than a sesame seed so they are incredibly difficult to spot on the body.

Since people are more into outdoor sports now than ever before, the cases of Lyme disease are the fastest growing diseases in the US.

Usually, there can be up to about fourteen thousand cases reported every year but what people should know is that this disease is rarely fatal.

Indeed, the symptoms normally resemble flu which means that many cases go unreported. Infected persons usually get better on their own but some need antibiotics to clear up the infection. One odd fact though is that the medical world predicts that about ninety percent of cases are not reported so this gives some indication of how large the problem is.

For anyone living within this range where the deer tick is present, it is a good idea to keep the place free of rodents and animals which attract the tick in the first place.

Exterminators are always ready to give advice and show the householder how to make the place as uninhabitable as possible for infestations.

If there is no food source apart from humans, it is unlikely that these ticks will be able to sustain their life span which is good news for everyone who worries about such infections.

Pet owners are accustomed to the frequent grooming of their cat and may not notice the problem until there is a visible loss of fur or they notice bumps on the animal’s skin. Cat flea bites can be horrible — once bitten by fleas, they itch so much!

On white or light-colored felines the fleas can easily be seen scurrying around.

On dark fur, you may need a fine-toothed flea comb to see the tiny black dots commonly referred to as flea dirt. This is actually flea excrement – a clear indication your animal has a flea problem.

Unchecked flea infestations can cause feline anemia which can be fatal in kittens. If your cat has been heavily infested with fleas, pale gums can be a signal of anemia caused by loss of blood. A more serious type of feline anemia is caused by a microorganism transmitted by fleas.

This severe form of anemia may require antibiotics and steroids. In the most serious cases, blood transfusions may be recommended by your veterinarian.

Tapeworm is a common consequence of fleas on cats. Kittens are prone to worms and are often dewormed routinely. Older cats may exhibit dull coat, weight loss and appear lethargic when tapeworms are present.

For the owner, the appearance of small white specks around the anus is a clear symptom of tapeworm. Your veterinarian can provide a small pill that will effectively kill tapeworms. Controlling fleas on your pet will prevent tapeworms in the future.
Fleas will make your cat itchy and uncomfortable and can lead to further skin problems and infections. Topical flea treatments such as Advantage, Frontline and Revolution can totally eliminate the flea problem for cat owners.

Advantage was the first widely used veterinarian recommended topical flea treatment. It is generally regarded as safe for adult cats and for kittens over 6 weeks old. Advantage is an effective and cost-effective flea control medication.

Frontline for Cats kills fleas on your pet in twelve hours and also protects from ticks and lice. The spray version of Frontline may be less expensive for those who have a multiple cat household but the topical drops are more popular as they are easier to apply.

The introduction of Revolution provided a medication that would control fleas but also some ticks and ear mites and provide protection against heartworm. Revolution is a systemic product that remains in the cat’s bloodstream and some animals will have an allergic reaction to it.

This flea prevention medication is available only through a veterinarian and provides complete parasite control as it also prevents hookworm and roundworm.

Although both Advantage and Frontline products are offered by pet stores both offline and online, it is recommended that you purchase directly from a veterinarian. It is important to buy products that are well within the expiration dates and avoid cheap imitations that are packaged to look like the original product but are ineffective and could harm your cat.

Not only veterinarians can help you with this problem. The need for pest control’s flea removal services should be done immediately for the safety of your home, and your pet.

You may be unaware that the most common skin problems that affect pets are actually caused by fleas. Conditions like itchy skin, hot spots, excessive scratching, and bald spots are often a result of an allergic reaction to flea bites’ saliva, referred to as “flea dermatitis”.

Once the flea bites and injects its saliva into the dog or cat, an allergic reaction starts and the site quickly becomes red, inflamed and extremely itchy.

The worst damage is done by the pet itself due to biting or chewing at the site – usually for prolonged periods. This can result in skin lesions and hair loss.

These allergies are often so severe that even one flea can cause your dog or cat great discomfort.

Symptoms include:

• Extreme itching
• Skin eruptions including hot spots
• Skin crusts
• Small pimple-like bumps
• Hair loss
• Hair that appears broken or damaged

Fleas are great at hiding and it usually takes a full-blown invasion to see the telltale signs.

One way to check for fleas is to cover pet’s bedding with a piece of white fabric and then check it for flea droppings.

These will appear like tiny dark specks and can be as small as a grain of sand. Flea droppings actually contain your pet’s dried blood. To be on the safe side, if your pet is experiencing any skin discomfort, take measures to eradicate fleas (even if you don’t see any), by following these steps:

1. Remove possible pests from your pet by shampooing with a natural product like Neem Shampoo.

Neem oil is a natural pesticide and insect repellent found in the Neem tree and is safe for pets. Neem Shampoos do not contain potentially harmful chemical insecticides like pyrethrins or DEET. Neem has the added benefit of soothing irritated skin.

2. Wash all pet bedding and thoroughly vacuum all upholstery and carpets. Remove vacuum cleaner bag and dispose of it outside your house to keep trapped fleas and eggs from hatching and re-entering.

3. Keep fleas away naturally by adding B vitamins and dry garlic to your pet’s diet. They make your dog or cat’s skin less appealing to parasites and are a safe alternative to chemical repellants. In areas where fleas are epidemic, it may be necessary to also spray with a natural flea repellant before allowing your pet outdoors.

Soothe the Itch It may be necessary to provide topical treatments until the irritation subsides. Applying pure aloe vera juice or giving baths in colloidal oatmeal or neem shampoo can help your pet feel less itchy and let the healing process begin.

Oral supplements may also help relieve the itching and irritation. Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant known primarily for its cardiovascular protective properties, but it is also an effective histamine blocker and it is safe for pets.

Another possibility is fish oil. It is a natural anti-inflammatory and does wonders for a pet’s coat. Fish oil has many health benefits and is a great addition to a proactive health regimen for your dog or cat.

If the above measures do not eliminate your pet’s skin problems, you may have to consider calling in pest control to eradicate fleas once and for all.

A flea’s life cycle makes it difficult to eradicate them. The three stages of a flea’s life are ova, larvae, and adult. Pesticides often only work against fleas in one stage or another and not all three. That’s why you will often be successful in how to get fleas out of your house, only to have them return in a week or two after a new batch has hatched. Random attacks won’t defeat these hardy pests. Winning this war requires a full battle campaign.

Once spring arrives, your first step should be to treat your yard. Next comes the inside of your house, and finally your dog. Outdoor treatments work best in dry conditions so try to plan this attack when the forecast calls for warm, dry weather for a few days.

Like many things, it’s a whole lot easier to prevent an infestation than to end one.

A person can examine their pet at home to determine if there is a need for flea and tick prevention. However, it is important to follow the application directions of a product closely to avoid the accidental poisoning of the pet.

It may also be necessary to treat the yard and home if the pets stay outdoors most of the time. Here are some guidelines to help any pet owner with this common issue.

Use bath time to find ticks. The water on their coat makes it tough for the ticks to hide. Another way to find the pest is to examine their entire body with your hands. This can be done while petting them.

However, be certain to examine the entire body and include their ears. You may have to also separate their fur in order to find any ticks that have burrowed more deeply.

How To Know If You Have Fleas

Fleas are just as easy to find. Simply use a flea comb on their coat and examine closely. Even if you do not find any fleas but think there may be a problem, you can still treat them for it.

If they continue to scratch, have hair loss, or scabs on their skin, have your veterinarian test them for mites or bacterial diseases.

Most prevention options will need to be repeated for continued control. Topical treatments are most often applied to the back of the neck to prevent dogs or cats from licking it off.

Shampoos are best to use when a young animal has a severe infestation. There are also oral products that work well.

It is vital to use caution whenever using one of the flea and tick prevention products. Pets can sometimes have a reaction to the toxins used or they are sometimes accidentally poisoned. To prevent accidental poisoning, it is vital to follow the product’s directions closely.

If they develop ear twitching, mild depression, diarrhea, vomiting or excessive salivation, contact your veterinarian immediately.

Or, better yet, eliminating fleas can be done safely and efficiently with the help of a flea removal service company.