Tick Notes

De-tick with duct tape!

We've been receiving a lot of questions about larvae tickencounters. Now's when you may encounter an egg-batch worth of larval stage deer (blacklegged) or Lone Star (seed) ticks. These six-legged larvae hatch from egg masses that can contain 3,000 or more eggs that all hatch at about the same time. That's why people more frequently encounter a tick swarm instead of a single larval tick. The good news about larval deer and Lone Star ticks is that they hatch from eggs as pathogen-free ticks.

Larval TickEncounter

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This very effective way to de-tick yourself starts with duct tape! Our TickSmart Tip for August and September is to always have sticky duct tape ready in case of a tick swarm. Duck Brand tape even comes in an appropriate lime (Lyme) green!

TickSmart™ Tip#5: "DE-TICK" WITH DUCT TAPE.

TickSmart Tip #4

To get the larvae off of you and the dog before they bite, we recommend using sticky duct tape as soon as you notice the ticks latched on. If you don't find them until they're already biting, they may not come off as easily, and you may need a fine-pointed tweezer to pluck them off. Remember TickSmart Tip #01: De-ticking clothes is best done by throwing everything into a hot dryer for 15 minutes, even before washing. The ticks will dessicate. Washing clothes first does not kill them but drying does.