Ticked Off For Two Years The Life Cycle of a Tick

The Frisbee went off course and you had to retrieve it from the brush.

Then the baseball was overthrown and you had to locate it in the woods.

Finally, when all the fun and games were over, you had tweezers in your hand and a Deer Tick on your leg.

And as the life of that sucker (hah!) is being cut short just as you were regretting wearing shorts, you start wondering more about the creature on your leg in the first place. That is, if you’re not miserably distracted by the BBQ you’re missing out on during the tick-removal process.

Like all species of ticks, the Deer Tick requires a blood meal during each stage of development until they reach full maturity. Deer Ticks have a two-year life cycle.

Year Number One: The female lays approximately 3,000 eggs underneath leaf debris and then dies (rough, huh?).

Nymphs hatch in spring and the larvae become active in late summer and early fall. Both feed on small rodents (gourmet ones, of course). The greatest chance of Lyme disease occurs during this time and the removal of all fallen leaf debris is critical.

Year Number Two: Adult ticks feed on large animals such as deer, your dog Rover and ourselves while laying eggs in leaf debris in the fall and winter.

Maintaining the lawn is the key to an effective tick program. Tick prevention is best aided when you take preventative steps to kick deer and mice off your land as well, especially your lawn and property.

Discouraging these hosts will control the tick population and keep these blood-sucking disease carriers at bay.

Remember: When in high grass areas, it’s very important to make sure to wear long sleeves and long pants, or just as you try to get rid of your Deer Tick situation, you’ll end up covered in them.

Of course, as always, remember that Catseye Pest Control is just a phone call away from taking care of whatever is ticking you off.