TICK ALERT: How To Protect Your Lawn & Family from the Dangerous Tick

June 6, 2017

HOW TO IDENTIFY
Ticks are arthropods, meaning they’re invertebrates that have jointed legs and external skeletons. Depending on a tick’s stage in its lifecycle, it can be seen with having 6 legs (larva) or 8 legs(Nymph-Adult). Often times people confusion ticks with being spiders or insects but the real truth is, they're actually a part of a group called mites. These invasive mites are external parasites that latch onto the skin of their hosts with their mouthparts to feed. Categorizing into two groups, ticks can be either ‘hard’ or ‘soft’, hard ticks have protective plates on their backs while soft ticks do not. Ticks with hard backs are restricted in the amount of blood they can consume in one eating, requiring days of attachment to be fully fed while ‘soft’ ticks have a leathery appearance, lacking the hard shield but giving them the opportunity to engorge quicker (in some cases, soft ticks can be fully fed in a matter of minutes).

On top of the two categories, there are multiple different species of ticks throughout the world that can be identified and classified accordingly; to name some: Blacklegged ticks (deer tick), American dog ticks, Brown dog ticks, Lone Star ticks, Rocky Mountain Wood ticks and more. Although these species are different, they have similarities to watch for. It’s important to understand that location, as well as the time of year will determine which tick species is most common in your area. When identifying an unfed tick, some important characteristics to look for are its shield known as the Scutum. The Scutum is located right behind the mouthparts (can be mistaken as the head) of the tick; female adult ticks have a smaller Scutum than males. Male’s Scutum often cover their entire back. Another characteristic to help identify a tick and the species is to look at the festoons of the insect. According to The University of Rhode Island’s TickEncounter Resource Center, “The festoons are small areas separated by short groves on the back margin of the tick.” 
  • NOTE: Blacklegged ticks are the only species that lack festoons.

ENGORGED LONE STAR TICK

If a tick is engorged from a feeding, its Scutum can still be seen to identify the tick species. Notice how the Lone Star Tick's (Image to the left) Scutum is still present although the festoon is not.


PREFERRED ENVIRONMENT

A tick’s preferred environment depends largely on    its favored host. In general, ticks can be found in wooded areas, tall grass, brush, piles of leaves, woodpiles, underneath ground covering plants and on or around stone walls near favored hosts as well as in lawns and shrubs of surrounding areas. Some ticks can even be found in the dens, nests and burrows for their hosts! Generally, ticks seek out vegetation at the height of the preferred host. It’s important to understand that ticks are susceptible to drying out and seek environments that have a higher humidity to survive. For a better understanding of ticks in your area and their potential habitat, check out The University of Rhode Island’s Tick Encounter Resource Center provides a Current Tick Activity Chart to help identify the ticks most prevalent in the area.

INFESTATION SEASON
A tick’s life cycle is key to understanding when they are most active. Ticks persist mainly throughout the growing season and remain active as long as the temperature remains above freezing (the ground temperature needs to be above 45 degrees Fahrenheit for them to become active during winter). During Mid-March to May the ambient temperature is warming, allowing for tick embryos to develop and hatch into the larva stage. During this time, tick larva will seek a host (a small mammal, rodent or bird) to receive its first blood meal to help it develop into a nymph. Once ticks enter into the nymph stage typically starting in April and continuing into September they are the most active and become most troublesome for larger mammals, including humans. This development stage time varies from species to species but once in the nymph stage, ticks will once again need to engorge in a blood meal to begin the transformation to adulthood (different species may have multiple levels of nymph development prior to adulthood but still pose risks to the pets and people around you). From Mid-August to November nymphs are becoming adults. Adult ticks will also have to feed again, targeting large mammals during this time.

Check out The University of Rhode Island’s TickEncounter Resource Center Chart of the Lone Star Tick and Its Stages of Life.

BLACKLEGGED TICKS LIFE CYCLE

For a better understanding of a life cycle for a tick species, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed an informative diagram for ease of understanding. This showcases a blacklegged tick that is known to transmit anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and Lyme disease.


DAMAGED CAUSED

Ticks don’t pose a direct threat to the overall health of your turf but it does threaten the potential wellbeing of your family, friends, pets and you as everyone enjoys your lawn this season! These pests hide in lawns and cause potential health risks like skin irritation, fever, aches & pains, rashes and diseases like Lyme disease, southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI), Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), ehrlichiosis, and tularemia as well as, although rare, ticks can cause the deadly Powassan virus (often carried by backlogged ticks) or paralysis. If a tick is discovered on your body, its important to remove it. CLICK HERE to learn how to properly remove a tick if one is discovered on your body.

 HOW TO MANAGE Conventional insecticides can suppress ticks throughout its lifecycle; check the product’s label to ensure that this pest is controlled. The best time to treat your lawn for ticks is during late spring-early summer. A single application of a control product will manage summer tick season. Review all label instructions of the insecticide purchased for proper directions of use. 

  • NOTE:  If you didn’t treat for ticks in spring, an application can be applied in early fall to control adults. Be aware of the label instructions for duration of control if you plan to apply in spring.

  List of professional insecticides known to control ticks: 

  •   Allectus®  (Imidacloprid and Bifenthrin)
  •   Imi-Lambda®  (Imidacloprid and Lambda-cyhalothrin)

* Listed technologies are proven to work on tick infestation problems. Not all insecticides that target ticks are listed here; there are other options out there, be sure to do your research and read label instructions before using any insecticide.


 HOW TO PREVENT

If you don’t currently have a tick problem, try preventative measures with best management practices including encouraging a healthy lawn by monitoring and maintaining a neutral soil pH , adopting a continuous lawn care program of fertilization and soil amendments to encourage native plants for appropriate ground cover, introduce proper irrigation , as well as mowing turf to healthy lengths. 


Check out our Lawn Care Tips for more ways to Keep Your Family & Lawn Safe from Ticks this Season.


 DID YOU KNOW?

  • Ticks can only crawl; they cannot jump or even fly. If you find a tick on your neck, it most likely crawled from a lower part of your body.
  • Each species of tick begins with the egg that is often deposited on the ground near the nest of its host.
  • Ticks do not just feed recklessly, they require a single blood meal to grow and transform into the different stages of their life cycle. That means depending on the tick species, a single tick may only feed up to three times during its life that can span from a matter of months or years.
  • Blacklegged ticks take 2-3 years to fully develop into adulthood but will feed only 3 times before it dies.


For professional fertilizers, humic and AMP-XC™ enriched products available, please visit TurfCare’s online Product Catalog.
 
For green industry professionals or others interested in ordering Turfcare products, please contact our Customer Service to find a distributor near you.

References:
http://www.tickencounter.org
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/symptoms.html
http://www.ct.gov/caes/lib/caes/documents/publications/fact_sheets/managingticks05.pdf
https://www.bayeradvanced.com/articles/10-easy-ways-to-rid-your-lawn-of-fleas-and-ticks
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/03/11/519518318/beyond-lyme-new-tick-borne-diseases-on-the-rise-in-u-s
http://www.wandtv.com/story/35500268/concern-of-uncommon-virus-rising-with-tick-population
https://identify.us.com/idmybug/ticks/tick-FAQS/what-are-ticks.html
https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2825/
https://extension.umaine.edu/ipm/tickid/tick-biology/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/2016/07/22/a392067c-4f79-11e6-aa14-e0c1087f7583_story.html?utm_term=.cf8a37e53d61
 
Photos:
Photo Credit: NIAID | Flickr | Lone Star Tick Engorged
Chart Credit: The University of Rhode Island’s TickEncounter Resource Center
https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/life_cycle_and_hosts.html

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