What is a tick? Ticks are not insects but Arachnids, a class of Arthropods, which also includes mites, spiders and scorpions. They are divided into two groups – hard bodied and soft bodied – both of which are capable of transmitting diseases in the United States.

Ticks are parasites that feed by latching on to an animal host, imbedding their mouthparts into the host’s skin and sucking its blood. This method of feeding makes ticks the perfect vectors (organisms that harbor and transmit disease) for a variety of pathogenic agents. Ticks are responsible for at least ten different known diseases in humans in the U.S., including Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, and more recently, anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis.

The Deer Tick Life Cycle The deer (or black-legged) tick in the East and the related western black-legged tick are the only known transmitters of Lyme disease in the United States. Both are hard-bodied ticks with a two-year life cycle. Like all species of ticks, deer ticks and their relatives require a blood meal to progress to each successive stage in their life cycles.

The life cycle of the deer tick comprises three growth stages: the larva, nymph and adult. In both the northeastern and mid-western U.S., where Lyme disease has become prevalent, it takes about two years for the tick to hatch from the egg, go through all three stages, reproduce, and then die. Detailed descriptions of this life cycle and the seasonal timing of peak activity, as they occur in these regions, are provided below.

The above graph shows the host-seeking behavior of I. scapularis ticks according to life-stage and season. Larval activity peaks in August, nymphs are active during the summer months, and adults are active during the spring and fall. People primarily acquire Borrelia burgdorferi (the causative agent of Lyme disease) from infected nymphs because of their small size. Host-seeking larvae are not infected. Infected adults are large enough to be noticed and are usually removed by people before B. burgdorferi is transmitted.

Consequently, very few Lyme disease cases are reported during spring and fall. Click here to learn about the probability of B. burgdorferi transmission according to how long an infected tick feeds on a person. Stage 1: Larva – As shown in the upper left corner of the life-cycle diagram to the right, eggs laid by an adult female deer tick in the spring hatch into larvae later in the summer. These larvae reach their peak activity in August. No bigger than a newsprinted period, a larva will wait on the ground until a small mammal or bird brushes up against it. The larva then attaches itself to its host, begins feeding, and over a few days, engorges (swells up) with blood.

If the host is already infected with the Lyme disease spirochete (a form of bacterium) from previous tick bites, the larva will likely become infected as well. In this way, infected hosts in the wild (primarily white-footed mice, which exist in large numbers in Lyme-endemic areas of the northeast and upper mid-west) serve as spirochete reservoirs, infecting ticks that feed upon them. Other mammals and ground-feeding birds may also serve as natural reservoirs of infection. Larval ticks are not born infected, they cannot transmit Lyme disease to nimal or human hosts. Instead, “reservoir” hosts infect the larvae. Having already fed, an infected larva will not seek another host, human or otherwise, until after it reaches the next stage in its life cycle. Therefore, larvae do not, in themselves, pose a threat to humans or pets.

Stage 2: Nymph – Larvae, after feeding, drop off their hosts and molt, or transform, into nymphs in the fall. The nymphs remain inactive throughout the winter and early spring.

In May, nymphal activity begins. Host-seeking nymphs wait on vegetation near the ground for a small mammal or bird to approach. The nymph will then latch on to its host and feed for four or five days, engorging with blood and swelling to many times its original size. If previously infected during its larval stage, the nymph may transmit the Lyme disease spirochete to its host. If not previously infected, the nymph may become infected if its host carries the Lyme disease spirochete from previous infectious tick bites. In highly endemic areas of the northeast and upper midwest, 25% of nymphs have been found to harbor the Lyme disease spirochete.

Too often, humans are the hosts that come into contact with infected nymphs during their peak spring activity (late May through July). Although the nymphs’ preferred hosts are small mammals and birds, humans and their pets are suitable substitutes. Because nymphs are about the size of a poppy seed, they often go unnoticed until fully engorged, and are therefore responsible for nearly all of human Lyme disease cases.

Stage 3: Adult – Once engorged, the nymph drops off its host into the leaf litter and molts into an adult. These adults actively seek new hosts throughout the fall, waiting up to 3 feet above the ground on stalks of grass or leaf tips to latch onto deer (its preferred host) or other larger mammals (including humans, dogs, cats, horses, and other domestic animals). Peak activity for adult deer ticks occurs in late October and early November. Of adults sampled in highly endemic areas of the northeast, 50% have been found to carry the Lyme disease spirochete. However, few cases of Lyme disease are acquired from adult tick bites because they are relatively large (about the size of an apple seed) and attached ticks are usually found and removed before spirochete transmission occurs (more than 36 hrs).

Adult deer tick questing for a host. Note the upper legs are raised in preparation for latching on to a passing animal. Adult deer tick seeking a suitable spot to feed. As winter closes in, adult ticks unsuccessful in finding hosts take cover under leaf litter or other surface vegetation, becoming inactive in temperatures below 45° F. Generally, winters in the northeast and upper mid-west are cold enough to keep adult ticks at bay until late February or early March (an exception was the warm winter of 1997-1998) when temperatures begin to rise. At this time, they resume the quest for hosts in a last-ditch effort to obtain a blood meal allowing them to mate and reproduce. This second activity peak typically occurs in March and early April.

Engorged Adult Female with Eggs Adult female ticks that attach to deer, whether in the fall or spring, feed for approximately one week. Males feed only intermittently. Mating may take place on or off the host, and is required for the female’s successful completion of the blood meal. The females then drop off the host, become gravid (egg-laden), lay their eggs underneath leaf litter in early spring, and die. Each female lays approximately 3,000 eggs. The eggs hatch later in the summer, beginning the two-year cycle anew.

For residents of regions other than the northeast and upper mid-west: Please note that where the range of the deer tick (or its close relative the western black-legged tick) extends beyond the northeast or upper mid-west, the timing of peak activity for each life stage of the tick may differ from that described above. In these areas, information on peak nymphal and adult tick activity can probably be obtained from local universities and health departments.

***American Lyme Disease foundation

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Are you located in the Upstate NY area and have a pest control problem? Call Nature’s Way Pest Control to get a pest inspection today. Don’t forget to use our internet coupon that saves you $25 off your initial visit, offered for a limited time only.

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It almost seems like if a home doesn’t have Carpenter Ants it’s just a matter of time before they do. These ants are attracted to moist rotting wood. They don’t actually eat the wood but carve tunnels and chambers through it to use as a major nesting site. As the colony grows so does the damage to the wood.

Carpenter Ants do not need rotting wood but prefer it due to it’s pliable texture. They are also known to nest inside styrofoam insulation, under regular insulation, and even under old tarps sitting outside.You can find carpenter ants nesting just about any place in and around a structure. Examples are: old dying trees, tree stumps, and firewood. You also may be dealing with more then one colony. Carpenter Ants will will establish satellite colonies through out the area.

The main colony is usually found outside in a tree. It takes approx. 3 months months in ideal conditions to form a colony.

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It almost seems like if a home doesn’t have Carpenter Ants it’s just a matter of time before they do. These ants are attracted to moist rotting wood. They don’t actually eat the wood but carve tunnels and chambers through it to use as a major nesting site. As the colony grows so does the damage to the wood.

Carpenter Ants do not need rotting wood but prefer it due to it’s pliable texture. They are also known to nest inside styrofoam insulation, under regular insulation, and even under old tarps sitting outside.You can find carpenter ants nesting just about any place in and around a structure. Examples are: old dying trees, tree stumps, and firewood. You also may be dealing with more then one colony. Carpenter Ants will will establish satellite colonies through out the area.

The main colony is usually found outside in a tree. It takes approx. 3 months months in ideal conditions to form a colony.

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We’ve seen homes literally caving in due to termites eating away at the wood. We can’t stress enough how important it is to have the right detection and procedure done. The pest control industry has developed so many different methods to control termites that the choice could be difficult. Nature’s Way Pest Control has over 30 years combined termite control experience and we will always customize a treatment to fit the structures specific needs.

Termites eat everything cellulose from your main support beams down to your baseboard trim. They can be found at ground level all the way to the attic. Termites are also one of the toughest to detect and iradicate because Subterranean Termites live in the soil below the frost line. Termites aren’t just going to go away either, the earliest fossils are approx. 120 million years old. Just like ants, termites are social insects which basically means they work together and share tasks within the colony.

Termites are usually found when they “swarm”, this usually happens between March – May. Swarming Termites is a sign of a nearby mature colony.  You have male and female swarmers. The female swarmers will eventually become  queens.Termite mud tubes are also a way to spot activity. These tubes are built to protect the termites. Other then these signs, termites usually go undetected until the damage is found. Preventative measures can be done to help keep them away. Wood soil contact should be avoid, proper drainage should be in place (gutters).

Mulch should be away from the structure, these are some examples of preventative maintenance.

Termite Advance monitors can be installed to help monitor and destroy colonies on the property. Basically a monitor is a plastic capsule with a cellulose attraction inside. Nature’s way Pest Control will insert the stations  in the soil approx. every 10 feet around the structure. Termites eat the cellulose so over time they will eventually find the stations and the colony will then be eliminated. Nature’s Way Pest Control will inspect the stations on a regular basis. The Termites will eventually eat the bait and be destroyed.

If Termites are already present within the structure the best thing to do is call Nature’s Way Pest Control for a free Termite inspection.

Termite Swarmers

Termite treatments can be very in depth, a detailed inspection will be provided. Termite baits alone without a liquid application is not recommended. The reason is it may take them a while to “hit” the monitors and in the mean time the damage will continue. You may also wan to look into our Pest Control Insulation, which attacks many other crawling insects including cockroaches, silverfish and ants.

Are you located in the Upstate NY areas including Albany, Saratoga Springs and Plattsburgh NY area? Are you in need of a termite control, detection, and monitoring treatment? Don’t hesitate to contact us here at Nature’s Way Pest Control. Also, to receive Nature’s Way Pest Control coupon for $25 off the initial visit click here.

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