Photo: Ladislav Kubeš/iStock / Getty Images Plus/Getty Images
We asked Pest Management Professional’s columnists and editorial advisory board members share myths they think persist in the pest control industry. Here are some of the experts’ responses from our April 2023 print edition.
Please take a minute to answer our latest one-question poll on this topic and let us what you’re bring to the new year: Reader poll: What can customers do to help PMPs control ticks?
PMP’s Editorial Advisory Board and Regular Contributors
Judy Black
Judy Black, BCE: “Ticks live in those brushy areas between the woods and the customer’s manicured lawn. This area is referred to as the ecotone. Keeping that brushy area ‘clean’ can help prevent ticks and allow a pest control company a better ‘surface’ for creating a treatment barrier in the ecotone.”
Foster Brusca: “Customers should bag grass clippings and gather leaves into piles for collection; that way, the yard is kept clear of possible tick harborage areas.”
Paul Hardy: “Tick control starts with outside sanitation. Remove the habitats that ticks need to survive.”
Dr. Faith Oi: “Tick management requires understanding that strategies involve multiple hosts — including pets, people and wildlife. A single female can deposit up to 5,000 eggs at a time that turn into pen tip-sized larvae, so it is better to inspect your pets and remove ticks as soon as possible.”
Jerry Schappert, ACE: “Dog ticks are mostly what customers encounter inside. They tend to stay close to the host, 2 to 3 feet. Concentrate cleaning in those areas.”
Dr. Hamilton Allen
Dr. Hamilton Allen: “Try to create a tick-free zone. One of the easiest things customers can do to discourage tick establishment is to frequently mow their lawns and prevent tall grass or brush buildup along the borders of their homes.”
Greg Baumann: “Always examine children and pets for ticks when they come back in the house.”
Desiree Straubinger, BCE: “Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, online at CDC.gov: Discourage unwelcome animals, such as deer, raccoons and stray dogs, from entering yards by constructing fences.”
Leave A Comment