At the moment, there are thousands of species of ticks, some of which simply live in the ground and fallen leaves, while others are carriers of diseases and can be dangerous to humans. That is why the owners of summer cottages are thinking about, how to detect ticks, choose a means for processing the territory and carry out preventive work.
How to identify ticks yourself?
Before you start treating the area from ticks, you need to find out if they are in your country house. No special tools or skills are required to detect insects.
Tick detection and collection tool
Take a stick and a white waffle towel or a large piece of white cloth with a side of 1 meter. Attach the material to the stick, and in the morning you can go looking for ticks by running the tool through the grass. If there are ticks in your country house, they will definitely catch on the embossed fabric..
Chemical-free tick control methods
If the area of your site is small, then you can get rid of ticks without chemicals. For this, it is convenient to use the same homemade tool. Cut short the grass first, and then go out with a stick and a white cloth to fish for two weeks each morning. Ticks are not very mobile insects, so you can not worry that they will run away from the site on their own.
What do ticks look like?
Using this manual method without chemicals, you will be able to significantly reduce the number of ticks on the site. These insects can reappear together with rodents. Although killing ticks with chemicals is more productive, the manual method without chemicals is environmentally friendly. The choice of method depends on the size of your site and personal preference..
Also read: Basic methods of dealing with wasps
Alternative methods for ticks
No one has been able to prepare a truly strong drug at home, however, you can try different folk methods. They will significantly reduce the number of ticks on the site and will not damage other crops..
Folk remedies for ticks
- Citrus juice. It turns out that these insects do not tolerate the smell of citrus fruits, so you can dilute the fresh juice with water and spray from a spray bottle.
- Plant solutions. Infusions of some herbs also have a pungent odor that ticks cannot tolerate, for example, geranium, sage, and garlic. You can add rosemary or peppermint essential oils to the water.
- Soda and boric acid. Spread one of these substances on your own area where the mites live.
What drug to choose to kill ticks
Unfortunately, there is no drug that is effective against ticks and does not harm other horticultural crops. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular tools.
Tick remedies
- DDT has been called the most effective tick control agent. Their disadvantages include the ability to accumulate in the soil, which may negatively affect the yield of planted crops in the future..
- Pyrethroids are often used by owners of small gardens. They are absolutely non-toxic to humans. However, do not use them in spacious summer cottages. These substances kill bees and can also cause poisoning in pets..
- Insecticides are widely used in the fight against ticks, but they can be harmful to human health. Safety precautions should be followed and personal protective equipment should be used.
What drug or tick control method choose, decide for yourself. The main thing is to follow the instructions on the packaging. We hope that our article on how to treat the area from ticks yourself was useful, and you can get rid of these parasites in a short time with your own hands..