Yes, ticks are a risk in the suburbs just like they are in rural areas. Blacklegged ticks, which are known to carry Lyme disease, have been spreading across southeast Michigan.
It’s tempting to think of ticks as being a rural problem, but that’s not the way things are any more. The suburban world has been pushing into the woods more and more in recent years. At the same time, blacklegged ticks, which are the ones known to carry Lyme disease, have been spreading further into southeast Michigan. This is not a good combination.
Ticks travel by host. That often means that deer and mice, sometimes even birds, drop ticks off in suburban areas. At that point, they can wait in your landscaping or tall grass until a host, possibly you, your child, or your pet, passes by. All ticks need to comfortably stay in a suburban backyard, after all, is a shaded and humid environment for the hot and dry parts of the day.
That doesn’t mean you can’t do anything about this, though. Lawn maintenance helps a lot. You can mow your grass regularly and trim back vegetation. Ticks dehydrate easily, so even these steps alone can reduce your encounters with them. Beyond that, you may want to consider hiring a professional tick control company. They can treat the areas where ticks are known to hide on a regular basis which greatly reduces your odds of picking one up.
If you do happen to pick up a tick, it’s important to remove it quickly. You can do this by using tweezers and pulling up straight and with steady pressure. Doing this within 24 hours greatly reduces your odds of Lyme disease and most other tick-borne illnesses.
If you are worried about ticks in your yard, Mosquito Squad of Metro Detroit can help. Mosquito Squad treats the edge zones where suburban ticks concentrate. This can help you to protect your family with up to 90% reduction in pest activity on a recurring cycle.
