The Best Way to Time Tick Treatment

tick treatment, bucks county tick treatmentLast year, a customer wrote to us with a number of very important questions concerning the timing of tick treatments. Because the egg-laying season of ticks in the Bucks County and Montgomery County areas in once again upon us, we figured this would be an ideal time of year to share our response with all of you.

—Peter Benz (Founder, Peter Benz Landscaping)

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Q. When do adult ticks lay their eggs and hatch?

Adult ticks will lay their eggs in the spring, which will then hatch into larvae in the summer season. The larvae tend to become most active in the month of August. At this point, these ticks do not have Lyme disease, because they must feed on an infected host in order to become infected.

Q. What are the life stages of a tick?

A tick has three life stages over a two-year period. There is one blood meal (feeding) per stage before they molt into the next stage. Remember, though, that a newly hatched larvae cannot pass Lyme disease onto a human, because they don’t yet have the disease. The disease must be picked up from an infected host. That host is usually a mouse.

After its one blood meal, the larvae will transform into nymphs in the fall. This is the most dangerous life-stage of a deer tick, because they are still as tiny as larvae, but may now be carriers of Lyme disease.

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The Definitive Guide to Preventing Lyme Disease

lyme disease preventionSpring is almost here, and so it’s time once again to turn our attention to preventing Lyme disease. Everyone is susceptible to Lyme disease, especially those who garden, hike, camp or play outdoors on a regular basis.

Did you know the CDC has estimated that some 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease each year in the United States? (Incredibly, less than 30,000 cases are reported annually.) People who live in the Northeastern, mid-Atlantic and upper Midwestern states are especially vulnerable to Lyme disease.

Let’s take a look at a few different ways to prevent Lyme disease.
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Landscaping Tips To Reduce Ticks On Your Property

By: Robert Oley, PE, MSPH, Public Health Consultant

Tick Control- Bucks County PAThe primary goal of a tick management plan for one’s home and surrounding property is to create low-risk tick zones within commonly used areas. These low-risk zones should include recreational, eating, entertainment and gardening areas, as well as spaces close to walkways, storage sheds, firewood piles, and mailboxes.

Ticks require a high humidity environment to survive, and need vertebrate hosts to feed on to be able to grow and reproduce. Without these two key elements, ticks just cannot sustain themselves. If you want to make your property safer from ticks, you must cut down on the number of potential tick hosts, while at the same time creating a drier, less inviting landscape for ticks.

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Preventing Deer on Your Bucks County Property

Deer Fencing Bucks County PAAre deer destroying any sort of plant life on your property? Unfortunately you aren’t alone. Deer are being forced into smaller habitats with the constant tear-down of forests to build housing developments and shopping centers. The loss of our deer habitat here in Bucks County has led to property damage on our residential landscapes and forests. These animals are beautiful to look at, but you don’t want them damaging your property that you have worked so hard to build and maintain.

In Bucks County PA we actually have one of the densest deer populations in the entire state. Deer are in almost every town in the county. Once deer enter your property they look to eat a variety of items including: wild crabapple, sumac, honeysuckle, grasses, greenbrier, clover, dogwoods, acorns, but they will eat just about anything. They will also eat “browse” material, meaning ends of twigs or small branches of trees that they don’t normally consume. Not only do deer cause a great destruction to your landscape but they can also spread Lyme disease by carrying infected ticks onto your property. To avoid both of these problems, you should implement a deer management system and include deer fencing and deer grates.

Deer Fencing Peter Benz LandscapingDeer fencing is made of a poly-coated web material. The color and grid-like space of the fencing makes it virtually invisible, blending in with the aesthetics of your property. When installed by Peter Benz Landscaping, this fencing system is strong enough to discourage deer and other harmful pests from entering your property. Deer fencing is a long-term and cost-effective solution to any deer invasion and will protect your property for many years. In addition to the fencing we can also install deer grates to allow the passage of people and cars, but not deer. The grates are made of hollow slats and can be used in place of, or addition to, a driveway gate.

No matter if you are looking to protect only a small portion of your property or the entire landscape, installing deer fencing and deer grates can be extremely beneficial. Fencing is really the only deer-proofing method there is because no other tactic offers complete control, keeping deer off your property.

Peter Benz Landscaping has years of experience in landscape design as well as fence installation so we are able to naturally blend any deer fencing into your property. We can install fencing on any size property from residential gardens to commercial orchards. Contact us to learn more.

Lyme Disease Protocol

Tick Control Bucks County

At Peter Benz Landscaping we put a strong focus on helping our clients prevent the spread of Lyme disease through a variety of tick control services in Bucks County. These services include the installation of deer fencing and Damminix Tick Tubes. If you or someone you know has already been diagnosed with the disease, here are some helpful suggestions on how to take care of yourself.

Diet

The bacteria and microbes of the disease feed on glucose for energy so you should try and cut as much as this out as you can. This means to eat less of sweets and simple carbohydrates like cakes, pastas and breads. Lyme microbes can actually produce chemicals that can make you crave sweets so that you can feed them. The more you are able to avoid giving into them, the better you will feel. Resist the urge to feed the problem!

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