How to Kill Ticks Outside

Some tick species carry dangerous diseases such as Lyme disease.

With more than 800 species of ticks in the world, and the ticks' infamous connection to transferring disease and sucking blood, most people want to kill ticks as a preventative measure to protect themselves and pets from illness and death. Prevention starts with killing ticks outside, before the vampire-like insects have a chance to travel indoors on our clothes and pets.

Things You'll Need

• Insecticides
• Insect foggers
• Tweezers
• Match
• Knife

Instructions

1. Spray your lawn and garden areas with an insect spray graded to protect your plants and flowers while effectively killing ticks. This prevents your pets from bringing ticks indoors when coming back inside. It also prevents wild animals from carrying ticks into your yard and transferring them to your pets. Ticks naturally avoid pesticides, so start at your home and work outwards into your yard to avoid flushing the insects into your home.

2. Set off an insect-killing fogger in your yard or garage. A fogger helps in controlling a large tick infestation. A time-release fogger works for several weeks and also kills tick eggs in the area.

3. Repeat applications of yard insecticides and foggers to keep ticks from entering your home. Sprays may need to be reapplied as often as once a week, while foggers should last a few weeks between necessary replacements.

4. Burn any brush or high grass in your yard or on your property to eliminate ticks and prevent your pets from bringing ticks home. Ticks often sit on the ends of tall grass and wait to grab onto animals and people passing by. Using controlled burning methods, burn away brush and high grass you have no use for to eliminate many ticks at once.

Tips & Warnings

• Monitor your pets closely each time they make a trip outdoors. Before allowing a pet back inside, comb the animal down and check for any ticks attached to the pet or in the pet's hair. Immediately remove the tick with tweezers and burn with a match or cut in half to completely dispose of the insect. Do not attempt to flush the tick, as it may crawl back out of the toilet. Also consider limiting your pet's outdoor time during the spring, summer and fall when the ticks appear large in numbers.

References

• USACHPPM: Tick Control Around the Home
• The Family Veterinarian: Ticks and Their Control
• Do-It-Yourself Pest Control: Tick Elimination

Resources

• Pest Products Online: Pest Identification