Tick season is upon us, and it can be a nightmare for anyone who loves the outdoors. However, there are ways to prevent tick bites, including using tick treatments on your pets and yourself. Early in the season is the best time to start using these products because ticks are most active when the weather is warmer. Read on to learn more about why early-season treatments and Medfield, MA Tick Control are so important!
Why You Should Start Tick Treatments in the Early Season
Each spring, ticks begin to emerge from their winter hibernation locations. As temperatures rise and the days become longer, ticks are more active and can be found throughout your yard and neighborhood. Ticks are a concern because they can transmit diseases to humans, pets, livestock, and wildlife.
Tick bites can cause Lyme disease symptoms in humans such as fatigue, joint pain or inflammation of the muscles around the joint (myalgia), headaches, and rashes that may resemble bull’s-eye markings on the skin (erythema migrans). Pets may develop swollen lymph nodes near the site of infection or a fever.
While it is not always possible to prevent tick bites entirely, treatment options are available if you find an attached tick on yourself or your pet; prompt removal reduces the risk of infestation with Lyme disease spirochetes even if it does not eliminate all risk.
Ticks Are Most Active in the Warmer Months
Ticks are most active in the spring and summer when they come out of their hiding places to feed on mammals such as humans, dogs, cats, and other animals. They live off of blood, so they have a lot of daylight to wait for a host animal to pass by. The best time is between nine, and 11 am because that’s when there are more people outside (for example, walking their dogs) and ticks like it warm with lots of humidity.
Ticks Are Active During All Life Stages
Ticks are active throughout the year, depending on where you live and the time of year. In general, early spring through late fall is when ticks are most likely to be encountered. Ticks can be active in all life stages during this time period.
Help Prevent Tick Bites
The key to preventing tick bites and the debilitating diseases that can be transmitted by ticks is taking steps now to protect your home and pets. A preventive treatment applied in spring will help prevent tick populations from growing, which helps reduce the number of ticks that are active during peak season in summer and fall.
Benefits of early season tick treatments:
- Help prevent tick bites. While not all treatments will eliminate all ticks, they can help prevent a population from growing if applied at the right time.
- Prevent disease transmission. Ticks are notorious for spreading serious diseases such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF). Early season tick treatments help reduce the number of active ticks during peak season for these illnesses when infection risk is greatest for both humans and pets alike.
Conclusion
In summary, ticks are most active in the warmer months and during all life stages. It is important to take preventative measures against tick bites by starting North Attleboro, MA Tick Control and tick treatments early in the season.
