Ticks are insidious; they breed extremely prolifically. The type of tick that we experience mainly in Arizona is known as the brown dog tick; it is an ectoparasite. It jumps on the dog, feeds, jumps off and crawls into a crack or crevice. Inside the cracks or crevices the tick molts, sheds its shell, and grows larger. The brown dog tick continues the behavior of jumping on the dog feeding then jumping off and molting until it has reached the stage in its life when it can reproduce. The brown dog tick can lay 250 to 5000 eggs at a time, making the tick very difficult to control.
When they crawl into the cracks or crevices, they can imbed themselves into the pores of a block fence, crawl underneath the siding of a home, behind the cracks and crevices that exist in a stucco finish, or any where that they can successfully brood. Successful tick control requires treatment of both the animal and the environment of which the animal occupies.
Only a few materials can successfully control ticks in Arizona. Anteater Exterminating, Inc. recommends the use of Frontline Plus® or Advance Care®. These are applied to the animal as a topical drop and then spreads across the animal’s coat and effectively control ticks attempting to attach themselves to the animal.
Then treatment must be performed on the entire yard, block fencing, the entire outside of the home, and injected into every crack and crevice. Additionally, the entire inside of the home must be treated, even if the animal is an outside only animal. It is possible for ticks to crawl in and around doors or windows. If your pet comes inside then it will be necessary to do extensive treatment inside.
A path must be cleared behind your furniture and personal belongings. You will have to remove all items from the floor. You may even have to tilt all your furniture on end so that the Anteater Exterminating, Inc. service technician can get inside and around it. Once an extensive tick treatment is done, a 7-10 day follow up should be preformed. An additional 7-10 day follow up may be necessary depending on the level of infestation. If your neighbors have dogs, you may even have to treat your home as frequently as twice a month. You must apply the Frontline Plus® or Advance Care® to your animals at least once monthly.
It is essential that the timeframe and treatment plan be strictly followed. If you do not follow this process you will not control the ticks. It is virtually impossible to control brown dog ticks by yourself spraying with your own material and treating your own environment. It requires the use of specialized power sprayers and equipment that allows the treatment of the entire yard and the injection into the deep cracks and crevices existing in and around your environment where ticks breed.
Ticks can carry a lot of diseases. Brown dog ticks carry Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Tularemia, and other diseases from animals to people. Fortunately they don’t carry Lyme disease. Lyme disease is carried by another type of tick which is not readily found in the Phoenix metro area. Although your dog can contract deer ticks or mice ticks while camping in northern Arizona. It is possible to bring them back to your environment here in the Phoenix metro area. Once ticks are effectively controlled you cannot assume that they are gone for good. It is possible for brown dog ticks to re-infest often. Brown dog ticks can be contracted from your neighbors, when you take your dogs out for walks, when you go to dog parks or just about anywhere that other dogs have recently frequented.
A regular monthly maintenance should always be preformed if you have had ticks in the past. You should be vigilant and treat your dog monthly. Anteater Exterminating, Inc. has a specialized highly effective treatment that when used in conjunction with proper maintenance and sanitation of your environment can eradicate this frustrating nuisance.