Invaders are not welcome in our yards. We don't need mosquitoes dive-bombing or ticks biting us as we stroll around our properties. No one wants to be fearful of contracting a disease simply because they enjoyed an evening on the back porch.
If mosquitoes attack or ticks embed into your body, you need Toccoa pest control from a locally woman-owned and operated company, American Pest Control. Our technicians are trained, certified, and background-checked. We are a QualityPro-certified pest control company. To achieve and maintain that status means our training standards meet and exceed state and federal regulations.
When you call us to stop a mosquito or tick infestation, the technician who answers your call and hears about the pest issue is the same person who will arrive at your home to stop the infestation. We don't have a separate customer service team because we want our technicians to build relationships with our community.
You probably found this article because you are searching for a tick control company in Toccoa or you have a mosquito problem. Please keep reading to learn more about these pests, prevention steps, and what you can do about the issue today.
Mosquitoes And Ticks Are External Parasites
A parasite is an organism that gets its nutritional needs from another organism. Parasites take but give nothing in return. Tapeworms and other intestinal parasites live inside the body, but external parasites (e.g., mosquitoes and ticks) live outside people in the environment.
Contrary to common belief, mosquitoes do not require blood to live. Male mosquitoes do not consume blood but get their nutrition from nectar and plant juices. Female mosquitoes also get their nourishment from these same sources; however, when they need to produce eggs, they need additional nutrients found only in blood. A fertilized female seeks out humans and animals and penetrates the skin using a needle-like mouthpart known as the proboscis. (Male mosquitoes have this same mouthpart, but it is not strong enough to pierce the skin.)
This hollow, needle-like mouthpart acts as a straw. She uses it to inject her saliva, which contains an anticoagulant so that the blood does not clot, preventing her from detaching when finished; she also uses the mouthpart to extract blood. The protein, amino acids, and iron she receives from the blood stimulates egg production. Once she has the eggs, she seeks out stagnant water in ponds, low-lying areas, containers, etc., to deposit the eggs. After leaving the eggs, she searches for a new host for blood nutrients.
While mosquito bites occur from these creatures as they fly through the yard to find their future hosts, ticks extend their front legs while holding onto leaves and twigs through a process known as "questing," when they sense vibrations, heat, and carbon dioxide from a potential host. When the victim is within reach, the tick grabs it with its front legs and crawls onto the person's body.
Once on the body, the tick searches for warm moist places such as behind the knees, armpits, groin, and hair. Using a harpoon-like structure known as the hypostome, the tick anchors itself while it inserts a barbed feeding tube into the skin. Like a mosquito's hollow proboscis, this feeding tube allows the tick to inject an anesthetic while it draws blood over the next few days. When the tick finishes feeding, it detaches from the host. Adult ticks need blood to live, and maturing ticks need it to progress through each life cycle stage.
Although ticks and mosquitoes need blood to survive or produce eggs, we also need our blood. American Pest Control removes ticks in Toccoa lawns, so you don't have to worry about losing precious blood to these insidious parasites.
Ticks And Mosquitoes Both Transmit Dangerous Diseases
Because ticks and mosquitos draw blood and inject their saliva into their hosts, they can transmit diseases. Mosquitoes ingest bacteria and viruses when they bite infected hosts. These disease-causing organisms live inside the mosquito in the salivary glands and midgut. When the infected mosquito bites another host and injects its saliva, it can transmit bacteria and viruses in its body to the new victim.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) calls mosquitoes the deadliest animal because they are numerous worldwide and carry diseases. West Nile virus, dengue, chikungunya, encephalitis, and tularemia are diseases carried by mosquitoes in the United States. Symptoms from these illnesses range from fever, headache, nausea, and other flu-like manifestations to life-threatening and potentially debilitating effects from brain and spinal cord swelling. If you experience any symptoms after a mosquito bite, seek medical care.
Ticks do not have the same reputation as mosquitoes, but that does not mean they are not dangerous. Ticks may also ingest disease-causing pathogens into their bodies which then migrate to their salivary glands. As an infected tick draws blood and injects its saliva, it can transmit pathogens in its saliva. American dog (wood) ticks, deer (blacklegged) ticks, and lone star ticks are the three types of ticks in Toccoa, and the following is a sample of some of the bacteria and viruses they spread:
- Tularemia
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Tick paralysis
- Lyme disease
- Ehrlichiosis
- Powassan virus
- Heartland virus
- Bourbon virus
- Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI)
As with mosquito-borne illnesses, symptoms can range from mild, flu-like to fatal. Seek medical care if you experience any symptoms after receiving a tick bite.
American Pest Control provides mosquito control in Toccoa and tick removal to protect your family from the ravages of tick and mosquito-transmitted illnesses.
Helpful Tips To Prevent Mosquitoes And Ticks Around Your Property
Once American Pest Control resolves your problems with mosquitoes or ticks, you don't want another battle with these biting insects and arachnids. These tips will help deter either one from infesting your property in the future:
- Remove water-collecting items from the yard
- Provide drainage to gutters, ditches, low-lying areas, and AC units
- Change out water in bird baths weekly
- Circulate water regularly in pools
- Install sprinklers in the pond or retention pond
- Trim bushes and trees to maximize sunlight on the property
- Plant mosquito-repelling plants
- Clear out dense vegetation
- Keep the grass mowed short
- Build a fence around the property
The first several items are effective against mosquitoes since they lay eggs in stagnant water. Most mosquitoes do not fly more than 200 yards from their breeding site; by eliminating standing water, they have no place to breed.
The last three tips help with tick prevention since ticks prefer tall grass and vegetation; however, eliminating dense vegetation allows for better airflow, which reduces moisture and breeding areas for mosquitoes. Although it sounds odd, building a fence around your property will help tick control. Ticks often hitchhike on rats, mice, and other rodents, so enclosing the yard will help deter these creatures from entering, thus reducing the possibility of a tick infestation.
Keep your skin covered, apply permethrin to clothing, wear EPA-approved repellants, and check your body and clothing when coming inside to avoid tick and mosquito bites. If you receive mosquito bites, clean the area with soapy water, and apply an ice pack to reduce swelling and an over-the-counter anti-itch or antihistamine to decrease itching. If the tick is into the skin, use a fine-tipped tweezer to grasp the tick as close to the skin as possible and pull upward with steady pressure, do not jerk or twist the tick. Use the same procedures for the tick bite area after removing the tick. Monitor yourself for any symptoms and seek medical attention if they develop within a few days.
When a certified, licensed, and trained home pest control technician from American Pest Control arrives to get rid of ticks or mosquitoes, we will identify tick and mosquito attractants on your property. Our knowledgeable technicians can provide additional prevention tips specific to your location.
Contact Us For Complete Tick And Mosquito Control
American Pest Control removes mosquitoes in Georgia homes. Our process begins when the technician with whom you discussed the problem over the phone arrives and inspects your property. During the investigation, we search to locate breeding areas. Once we determine the locations where the females deposit the eggs, we treat them with a larvacide that eliminates them. Next, we treat bushes, trees, and shrubs where mosquitoes rest before they feed on hosts.
Our tick removal approach is similar. We investigate the property to determine attractants and hot spots. Using data from our inspection, we create a strategy using Integrated Pest Management (IPM) solutions. This pest control approach focuses on the specific tick species infesting the yard, the appropriate use of targeted treatment products, and prevention techniques.
Contact us today to learn about our pest control plans, schedule your free inspection, and let us give you peace of mind.