Keep Ticks Away On The Trails In Willow Grove

It’s no secret that ticks are the talk of the town here in Willow Grove and the surrounding areas. Grove Pest Control is getting plenty of calls about ticks found on their dogs and themselves. The main concern that everyone has surrounds the diseases that ticks carry, and that is no doubt a valid concern. So what do we do about it?

I’ll start with a little story. This weekend, my family and I went on a trail walk over at the Pennypack Trail in Huntingdon Valley. My son brought his dog, who went galavanting through all the brush and overgrowth along the side of the trail path. I kept my daughter with me, walking the center of the trail, where we were safe. My wife asked, “What if a tick hops on us while we are walking”? The answer is that ticks do not hop off of overgrowth over to where you are walking. They also DO NOT fall from trees above. Ticks hang out about ankle height on blades of grass or weeds or other overgrowth and wait for someone or something to brush up against it. This is when they latch on. This is called questing. Ticks know that they are not going to encounter a deer or person up high in a tree. Needless to say, FIDO had a few ticks that were promptly removed.

In your own backyard, you want to keep your grass trimmed short, and any areas with overgrowth, like weeds, etc cut back and down. If you have weeds poking through your fence line, cut that down. Ticks don’t like sunny, exposed areas, so a trim lawn in the open sun is not a comfortable area to quest. If your yard has a lot of bushes and/or backs up to a wooded area, you may want to keep people and pets away from that area, as this could be an area of concern.

Safety and control measures to consider would be to wear a tick repellent, even if you plan to hike in the middle of the path or know you will be in an area with a lot of overgrowth, like camping. Try to keep your dog away from weeds, bushes, and overgrowth, even on a neighborhood walk. In your own backyard, consider a seasonal tick treatment. It helps to keep the tick population in check. As you know, Grove Pest is always ready to help with this. Even with all this, do a tick check if you like to spend a lot of time outdoors to be on the safe side.