Tick Control Tubes, What You Need to Know
Posted by Mosquito Squad
December 20, 2023
Tick control tubes are your first line of defense for tick elimination by interrupting their life cycle.
Many have questions about tick tubes, though. How do they really work? Are they as effective as tick control experts say? Here are the answers you are searching for about tick control tubes!
What is in a tick control tube?
What is inside a tick tube? Good question!
Tick tubes are decomposable cardboard rolls – like those found in the center of toilet paper. To combat the ticks, they are filled with cotton that has been soaked in permethrin and then they are scattered around the perimeter of your yard. They are most often placed in areas surrounding your home that mice are most likely to dwell or visit – like around edges of your home exterior and backyard enclosures like sheds.
Do ticks enter the tubes, or what? Another good question. Ticks do not enter the tick tubes. The tick control happens when those inquisitive mice pick up the treated cotton fibers and bring them back to their den to use as bedding, which spreads it onto the mice's fur. In short, they are Mosquito Squad tick control helpers as ticks visit the places where the mice place the cotton.
When should tick tubes be put out?
When should tick control tubes be distributed; and where should they be put out? You’re doing great. Another smart question to ask about tick control.
As for when, at a minimum, tick tubes should be put out twice a year – once in spring and once in late summer. The first application will eradicate nymphal ticks that emerge in the spring and the second application gets rid of larval ticks that hatch in late summer. It is essential to set tick tubes out both times of the year to achieve the best tick control results.
As for where to place your tick tubes to achieve the best tick control, place your tick tubes around the perimeter of your yard, and in areas where you spend a lot of time. Be sure to include areas that look like prime mouse habitat – near rocks and wood piles, in overgrown and wooded areas, around buildings edges, as young mice are typically born blind and navigate against wall surfaces for easier mobility.
How effective are tick control tubes?
As Hillary Clinton once said, “It takes a village.” The level of tick control provided by Mosquito Squad’s tick tubes must be experienced to be believed, especially when combined with our highly effective barrier treatment! The tick tubes do not simply eliminate ticks; they actually interrupt the tick life cycle by hitting ticks where they hide. And in doing so, our clients report fewer emerging ticks in the springtime. This means fewer ticks to bite us and fewer ticks to reproduce.
And the lesser the number of ticks, the greater the chance to prevent the spread of staggering tick spread diseases. In the United States, some ticks carry pathogens that can cause human disease, including:
Anaplasmosis which is transmitted to humans by tick bites primarily from the blacklegged tick.
Lyme Disease and Powassan Disease are both transmitted by the blacklegged tick.
Babesiosis which is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells.
Bourbon Virus infection has been identified in a patient in the southern United States.
Ehrlichiosis is transmitted by the lone star tick, found primarily in the southcentral and eastern U.S.
Heartland Virus cases have been identified in the southern United States. Studies suggest that Lone Star ticks can transmit the virus.
For more detail on the dangers that effective Nashville tick control can help eliminate, we encourage you to visit The Centers for Disease Control website.
Are you interested in deploying Mosquito Squad of Nashville’s tick control tubes around your property for ultimate tick protection all year long? Contact us at 615-492-3662.