How to Help Protect Your Family From Emerging Tick Species

In Thiells, the wooded landscape makes it one of the dreamiest places to live. Mature trees, grassy yards, and easy access to beautiful parks and trails give this area unique character. 

But, there's a small issue. That same landscape you love also produces something you hate: ticks. Lots of them. 

In fact, the Lower Hudson Valley is one of the most active tick regions in New York State. While familiar tick species are not great, there are new species showing up in every nook and cranny. And it just keeps getting more complicated. 

One tick species that you may encounter is the Asian longhorned tick. It’s been documented in New York City, Long Island, and the Lower Hudson Valley, which puts Thiells squarely in the area of concern. 

Researchers are still studying how this species behaves in the U.S., meaning that more research is needed before we know if this tick species transmits pathogens here like it does in other parts of the world. Truly, tick control has never been more important than it is now. 

And, regardless of species, helping protect your family should be the number one concern. So, where are these ticks hiding? And what should you do about it? 

Which Spots on Your Property Do Ticks Love Most? 

Ticks won’t hang out in every part of your backyard. For example, a freshly mowed yard won’t likely have ticks crawling through it. However, there are a few areas of your yard that could be tick hotspots: 

• Wood-lined edges - these give ticks easy access to your yard, as they thrive in wooded environments.
• Leaf litter zones - they love to lurk and hide in your leaf litter and yard debris. 
• Stone walls - these provide a moist, shaded environment for ticks as they wait for a passing host. 
• Ornamental ground cover - any yard decorations or yard ornaments could be housing ticks.
• Dense shrub borders - ticks love to rest in dense vegetation.
• Wildlife travel corridors - ticks use wildlife (like deer and raccoons) to access your yard. 

All of these conditions give ticks opportunities.

Ticks rely on opportunities to survive, mainly because they cannot jump or fly. Because of this, ticks exhibit a behavior called questing. Questing involves climbing on tips of tall grass or other vegetation and extending their front legs, waiting for a host to pass by. This behavior keeps them in shaded, humid, and brushy areas where moisture stays at ground level. 

How Do You Reduce Tick Exposure Around Your Property? 

The first step in reducing ticks on your property is changing the environment. And for the most part, it only takes a few small tweaks. 

Here are a few things you can do to make your yard less tick-friendly: 

• Keep grass mowed on a regular, shorter cycle (especially along fence lines and wooded edges). 
• Rake and remove leaf litter from shaded corners and along the back of the property. 
• Keep play equipment, patios, and high-use outdoor zones away from brushy or wooded areas.
• Move woodpiles off the ground and away from the house. 
• Use EPA-registered tick repellent according to label directions when spending time outdoors. 
• Perform full-body tick checks on yourself, your kids, and your pets after any outdoor time. 
• Consult your veterinarian about tick prevention products for your animals. 

None of these steps will remove 100% of ticks from your property, but they will help reduce how often you encounter them.

Call Professional Tick Control in Thiells (And Take Back Your Property) 

Yard maintenance + professional tick control = your best battle plan against ticks. 

That's where Mosquito Squad of Southern Westchester can help. Our trained technicians apply EPA-registered products to the areas where ticks are most likely to be hiding and waiting: in shaded vegetation, leaf litter zones, wood-line edges, and dense ground cover around your property. 

And ticks never stop. So, neither do we. That’s why treatment is always applied on a recurring schedule throughout the active season so ticks don’t bother you during outdoor events or Saturdays out on the lawn. 

While no tick control service will remove all the ticks, we get pretty close. You can expect an up to 90% reduction in the tick population in your yard.

Need help with tick control around your Thiells property? Call Mosquito Squad of Southern Westchester at (914) 533-1159 orrequest a free quote online.