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Time For Homeowners to Develop a Tick Control Plan to Reduce the Risk...

April 5, 2005 -- With spring weather here to stay, ticks are starting to emerge from their winter slumber. Ticks can transmit a number of serious diseases including Lyme disease, and upwards of 75% of these infections are acquired in a person's own yard. You can determine if you might be at risk by viewing a map of tick distribution at: http:www.tickbook.com then click on "Map of Blacklegged Tick Distribution" in the lower left part of the page.



If you live in an area with Blacklegged (Deer) Ticks, and Lyme disease has been reported in your area, now is the time to develop a plan to take back your yard from ticks. This information is focused on the control of Blacklegged ticks, but these measures will work for other ticks as well.



Five steps toward tick control on your property:

1) Rake up leaves in areas used by people (for example, along trails and in yards). Ticks need moisture to survive, and removing leaves will dry out the soil surface. Raking has been reported to reduce tick number by 75%.



2) Establishing a three-foot wide barrier between a wooded area and an adjacent yard. This can be accomplished by clearing out a strip of brush and tall grass at the edge of your yard, then laying down landscape fabric, and covering the landscape fabric with a thin layer of gravel or other dry material. This dry barrier makes it difficult for ticks to crawl into your yard. Reports have indicated this barrier can reduce tick numbers up to 50%



3) Remove brush and thin out trees in areas regularly used by people and pets. Again, this has the effect of drying the soil and consequently making it harder for ticks to make survive in these areas.



4) Mow lawns in heavily used areas to make these sites less welcoming for ticks.



5) Remove brush piles and other potential nesting areas for small mammals. Ticks normally feed on small mammals, so reducing mammal populations should also reduce tick populations.



Additional tick control ideas are available in the book "Ticks Off! Controlling Ticks That Transmit Lyme Disease on Your Property." by Patrick Guilfoile, Ph.D. More information about the book is available at www.tickbook.com

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