Have you ever had a tick on / in your body?  Most people have had a least one at some point in their lives.  Did you know there is a right way and a lot of wrong ways to remove it?  Unfortunately for me, my parents only knew the wrong  way to remove the tick (which they thought was to correct way – as do a lot of people).  But luckily, it never caused me to have any serious issues like the ones I getting ready to tell you about right now.

The correct way to remove a tick is pinch it softly between a pair of tweezers and to pull outward. Try not to squeeze the tick too hard as you may force the fluids within the tick to be pushed out of its body and back into yours.  Do not do this too quickly though, if you pull to hard or too fast you detach the ticks head and leave it buried into the skin which can cause you to have a bad reaction.  The correct way is to apply steady pressure outward until the tick releases it hold and pops out whole.  This process could take several minutes.  Once the tick is removed, smoother it with cotton ball wet with rubbing alcohol to kill it.  You can then freeze tick in the freezer just in case the person gets sick you still have the tick for the Doctor to check it and make sure it did not carry any diseases like Lyme.

Now let’s cover a few don’ts.

1. Do not try to burn it out with a hot match.  This can cause the tick to regurgitate into body while it is still attached sending bacteria into your system.
2. Do not smoother it with nail polish as it may cause the tick to try and dig deeper into your body.  If this happens it may be difficult to remove everything cleanly out.

Check out these links for more helpful tips.

CDC

Youtube  instructional video on how to remove

Of course the best way to prevent this is to not get a tick in the first place.  Our mosquito / tick service program does a great job of treating all of the potential harborage areas around your house and yard, and lets you enjoy your yard all summer long.  We apply a microscopic layer of material to all of the leafy surfaces that mosquitoes and ticks will hide during the day.  This in turn will greatly reduce the number that are available to bite you later in the day when you go outside.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

What is the best prevention treatment for my yard?  Well, when it come to ticks in St. Louis, there is only one type of treatment that I would recommend.  A full yard service.  Now, there are two ways to have this done. The first way is to spray your entire yard with a residual pesticide labeled to kill ticks.  This type of liquid application would need to be repeated every month or so if the tick pressure is high in your area.  The one good thing about a liquid application is the D.I.Y.’er can do this themselves given they have a good compressed air tank and the time it will require to spray the entire yard.

The better way to treat an entire yard would be to hire a professional pest control company (Blue Chip – St. Louis Pest Control).  Blue Chip uses a gas powered back-pack mister to blow the material into the grass, brush, plants and trees (up to 10-15″ high) where ticks will hang out looking for something to walk by so they can attach themselves to your body or clothing.  The reason the back-pack mister is better than just spraying a liquid is that it has the ability to dispense the material onto the  undersides of  grass and leaves.  A typical liquid application would only get the tops wet leaving the bottom side dry.  The nice thing about this type of service is that it will also take care mosquitoes and fleas.  We make monthly applications May – September, and offer a season long guarantee that we will come back and treat again should you see too many pests.

You are always welcome to call us at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options that can help you deal with mosquitoes.

There are several signs to look for when inspecting your home for termites.  Luckily for us in St. Louis, we only have to deal with subterranean termites.  Why is that helpful? For one thing, they have to make mud tubs from the ground to anything above ground that they what to get into to.  These mud tubs are a clear sign of termite activity.  If they are found, start by breaking a small piece apart, if the termites are still using the tub, they will repair the break within minutes.

Another sign of termites is when they swarm.  Only a mature colony of termites will swarm.  If they swarm in your home you will find the termites near a window ledge. Most people find the dead bodies or discarded wings along the ledge as they will die off fairly quickly if trapped inside the house.

And last most common way people find termites is when they doing remodeling inside the home.  Most people find the activity when walls or flooring is removed during this process.  It is very shocking to find termite damage when it may have never been found if walls had not been disturb during the construction.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.

In case you missed it.  Fox 2 in St. Louis ran a story about how fleas may be worse this year than in years past.  Click the link here to see the story.

You know, this might be true of all insects this year.  Thus far, our winter in St. Louis has been almost none existent.  Let’s hope for the best, but when all fails, remember you have a friend in Blue Chip.

The article does give some solid advice about dealing with fleas on your pet though:

One way to discover fleas early is to go over your dog with a flea comb, which can find fleas and flea dirt much better than you can just with your eyes.  If black specks fall out of the hair you’ve combed, chances are you’ve found fleas.  The best way to tell is to shake the hair pulled out by the comb over a white surface.  Then add water to any black specks you find.  If those specks melt and turn red, it is flea dirt, meaning your fleas have already made a home on your pet.

Along with fleas, ticks are expected to be bad as well, especially for pets that spend much time around water.

Please call us if you have any questions or concerns regarding these pests at 636-343-7900 or go to bluechipexterminating.com for more information regarding our service options.