Are you an outdoorsy person? Do you enjoy the beauty of being out in nature? Well, if you do, you should be prepared for ticks before going on the beautiful hiking trails of Seven Falls or enjoying your very own backyard picnic!

Ticks in Tucson have seemingly made it a crime to enjoy being outdoors without worrying about a tick bite. Fortunately, with proper tick removal treatments for your home and effective preventive measures, you can easily wander about your home without worrying about ticks. Simply get with your local Tucson pest control professionals at Pest Friends. 

Is This A Tick?

There are three different types of ticks in Tucson, but ticks are often mistaken for other blood-feeding pests. Because of this, you must understand how to identify ticks and distinguish them from other pests. One thing to note is that ticks range in color and markings depending on their species.

Here are some key features to help you determine if you’ve encountered a tick or something else:

• Ticks can be black, reddish-brown, grayish-white, and sometimes yellow.
• They have no wings.
• Ticks are typically flat and oval-shaped until they’ve had a blood meal.
• Adult ticks have eight legs
• They can grow to about ⅛ of an inch, but females are usually bigger than males.
• They can have soft or hard bodies; it depends on the species.

These are a few identifiers to help you determine if you’ve encountered a tick or something completely different. Knowing these features will help you determine the proper preventive measures as well.

Every Disease That Ticks Can Transmit

Ticks are known vectors of various diseases, but it’s also important to understand that not all ticks carry diseases. Nonetheless, it’s important to take the necessary measures to reduce contracting the following tick-borne diseases.

• Lyme Disease
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
• Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever
• Babesiosis
• Powassan Virus Disease
• Anaplasmosis
• Heartland Virus
• Tularemia
• Borrelia mayonii Disease
• Borrelia miyamotoi Disease
• Ehrlichiosis
• Rickettsiosis
• Colorado Tick Fever
• STARI
• Bourbon Virus

The brown dog tick is the most prevalent species in Tucson. Fortunately, they don’t typically bite humans. However, they’re known to transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever when they do bite. When they bite dogs, they can transmit canine ehrlichiosis or canine babesiosis.

Knowing all the diseases that ticks can potentially spread right in your own yard, it’s very important to protect yourself, your family, and your pets with effective tick control to reduce these health risks.

How To Effectively Deter Ticks In Tucson

There are many ways to prevent ticks from invading your Tucson home, but it will require a little bit of work on your end.

• Eliminate standing water in your yard. 
• Plant tick repellent plants (eucalyptus/cedar).
• Remove food sources.
• Sprinkle nematodes in your yard.
• Add fencing to your yard.
• Put your pet on a tick and flea prevention plan.

Of course, these methods will do wonders for your yard, but not until tick professionals perform tick control first. Otherwise, these pests will continue to infest your yard.

The Best Way To Permanently Remove Ticks From My Property

At the end of the day, you can do all the preventive measures you want, and they still won’t completely keep ticks from your property. Only tick control services work well, and at Pest Friends, we have all the right tools and products to eradicate tick infestations safely and effectively. Simply give us a call for an inspection or to learn more about our treatment options.