Taking the next step in tick control.

Our house is in a rural setting and our back yard is field and scrub as far back as you can see.  To say that ticks like it here is an understatement.  The first day we moved into this house 3 years ago, I found a tick on the bathroom floor.  I thought to myself, “Ooh, good thing we don’t have a dog!”.  Fast forward to 2016..we do have a dog, we still have the field and scrub and yes, there have been ticks.

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When we got Cooper a couple of months ago at the age of 7 weeks, he immediately refused to go potty in the actual back yard and made for the outer edges and the tall brush and scrub.  It’s good in that we don’t have a back yard full of visible poo every day..we can get away with letting it hide in the scrub for a few days before Mark goes on poo-patrol.  It’s bad in that it’s SCRUB AND BRUSH.  Cooper has had 3 ticks on him, despite a ridiculously expensive and popular flea and tick treatment that he gets monthly.  2 were attached (If there’s anything grosser, I don’t know what it is) and one was on his fur..the first one was in early March when it was supposed to be waaaay too early for ticks.

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And then a couple of weeks ago I went out back with Cooper and during our 5 or so minute sojourn to find a non-scrubby potty area, I picked up a tick on my pants leg.  Again.  Bare ground, just grass.  That was it for me, I’ve bought and tried so many “natural” products over the years, essential oils to be specific and had zero positive results, besides smelling good.  Having the amount of ticks that our areas now have and knowing how devastating Lyme disease can be..I called in professionals.

Maine Pest Solutions now offers yard treatment for tick control.  They recommend 3 treatments per season.  One in the spring to get the larvae, one in the summer to get the nymphs and one more in late summer/early fall for the adults.  The treatments run $115 to $125 per acre and if it helps to keep my family from contracting Lyme, it’s so worth it to me.  They only treated the outlying edges of the yard, where the little buggers are in the tall grass and scrub and where Cooper occasionally ends up, despite our best efforts.

Maine Pest Solutions is fully licensed & insured and owner Joe Deshane and his technicians are extremely well educated in every aspect of pest control.  I feel very confident that the benefits of lessening our chances of contracting Lyme disease far outweigh the risks of any pesticide use.  It’s only been about a week and so far we’re tick free.  The real test will be next summer after all 3 stages of the ticks have been treated this year.

Allyson Sorenson

About Allyson Sorenson

Bangor mom. BDN blogger. Volvo lover. Coffee drinker.