Habitat:

The brown dog tick has recently become established in eastern Canada. In temperate climates, the brown dog tick only occurs in heated buildings where dogs are kept.

Food:

Ticks are obligate parasites, which means that they must obtain a blood meal from a host in order to survive and reproduce, however ticks are adapted for prolonged periods of starvation.

Method of Travel:

Jumping

Prevention:

• Avoid tick infested areas, if possible.
• Wear protective clothing (eg. Secure pant cuffs inside boots and leggings to prevent ticks from gaining access to legs).
• Check your body thoroughly for ticks. Also, before your pets enter the house, check them thoroughly as well.
• An insect repellent containing DEET sprayed on the clothes is also effective at repelling ticks.

Steps to control:

• If ticks are found embedded in the skin, remove carefully, using small tweezers. Grasp the tick with the tweezers at the point where the mouth parts enter the skin. Use a gentle, firm, tugging motion until the tick releases hold of one’s skin. Do not kill the tick before it has been removed. Treat the bite wound with antiseptic to avoid infection, and save the tick in a jar labeled with the date and location, in case complications arise.
• Good, long lasting, low-toxic methods of insect control can be done with Knock Down Crawling Insect Killer or other Knock Down products listed below.