Ticks are a fairly common pest in the United States. Most of the time, they are relatively harmless. However, they can transmit diseases through their bite, which is why it is important to check your kids and pets routinely for ticks to ensure that you don’t miss a potential problem. Because of this, it is important to have proper tick control practices in place. To properly check for a tick, follow the steps below.
Checking Your Kids
If you’ve been outside in an area where you know or suspect there are ticks, it is important to have your children remove their clothing when they come indoors. That clothing should then go straight into the washing machine. Make sure to dry them on high heat as well; doing so will kill any ticks that linger on their clothes.
The best way to check your kids is in the water. Within two hours of coming back inside, give your little ones a bath and take your time checking them over. It is a good idea to get in this habit each night, particularly if there are a lot of these pests in your area. There are a few places that you need to make sure to look. For example, ticks like to hide between the toes, behind the ears and under the arms, where they are less likely to be found.
Should you find a tick, you need to get it off the body as soon as possible. The quicker you are able to remove it, the less likely the tick is to transmit disease. Get a pair of tweezers and grab the tick as close to the skin as you can. Pull to remove the pest; it make take a few minutes to get the tick off of the body, so be persistent. It is also important to pull straight up. You don’t want to twist the tick or squeeze it in any way. Once the tick is gone, use a little soap and water to wash the area that was affected.
Checking Your Pets
If your pet goes outside, you need to check him or her daily for ticks. Animals with long hair are a little more difficult to examine because the ticks like to bury themselves deep down in the fur. Be methodical in your examination. Start at your pet’s head and move down. Don’t forget to feel under their collar, around their toes and down by their tail. If you feel a small bump, make sure to investigate more closely.
Much like with children, you want to remove any ticks you find with a pair of tweezers as soon as possible. Pull the tick off, making sure not to rotate your hand when you do so. Once you have disposed of the pest, make sure to clean the area. You can use soap and water, as you would do with a child, or you can apply a little bit of rubbing alcohol.
Dealing with ticks isn’t fun. If you are concerned that there is a problem in or around your home, call Excel Termite and Pest Control. Our licensed technicians are ready to assist you with any backyard pest issue. We can help you get a handle on the problem and reduce the population of ticks in your yard. However, it is still a good idea to regularly check your children and pets for ticks, even if you have a pest control company coming out to your property.
For more information regarding Ticks, please visit our Ticks' FAQ page.
