Tick Control

It can seem like a “Darned if you do…” situation.

You’d like to enjoy your outdoor property with your family and guests — without worrying about tick bites and the serious illnesses they can transmit. But you also don’t want to expose your family and pets to harmful tick-killing chemicals.

That’s why SavATree is pleased to offer you two organic tick-control options that help protect your family and pets from the growing tick population and are friendly to humans, pets, and the environment.

  • Our Organic Tick Treatments use applications of organic, plant-derived ingredients that include cedar oil, which has shown to be highly effective in repelling and killing ticks.
  • Our Tick Habitat Treatments reduce Lyme disease-carrying deer tick populations on your entire property by targeting the white-footed mice the ticks love to feed — and travel — on. (It’s ingenious. Read more about it below.)

Why is effective tick control important?

Ticks are major carriers of diseases—-according to the CDC there are more than 16 different tick-borne pathogens including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Colorado tick fever, Heartland Virus, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Controlling the tick population amounts to fewer tick bites, which can protect you, your family and pets.

When are ticks most active?

Tick exposure can be year-round. They are more likely to spread diseases in the spring and summer during the nymph stage because they are harder to detect due to their small size, giving them ample time to feed and transmit infections.

By the fall and winter seasons, ticks have grown to their full size and are typically active during this time as well.

Regardless of time of year, if the tick carries the bacteria, people and pets can become infected after they are bitten.

Where do ticks typically hide?

Ticks love damp, dark environments. If your property is moist and wooded, it likely has a tick population.

Additionally, ticks thrive in vegetation. Tall grass, weeds, leaf litter, and brush are some of the common places ticks can be found. In fact, many ticks use tall grass as an opportunity to search for a host — they latch onto the tall weeds and wait for an passing animal or human to jump on.

Lastly, ticks love to latch on to two common animals: deer and white-footed mice. If deer or mice tend to roam your property, there’s a chance they might be carrying ticks.

How can you protect against ticks?

SavATree has created two tick control programs to reduce your tick population in a safe and effective manner.

Organic Tick Treatment

SavATree’s organic tick control program consists of applications made of cedar oil, an organic ingredient that has been shown to be highly effective in tick population control.

Our treatment is safe and provides residual control that lasts between 30 and 60 days. One of our highly trained specialists will come to your home to apply the tick repellent to the property, with special attention paid to the ecotone, which is the area where landscapes transition to woods.

Deer Tick Prevention & Control with Tick Habitat Treatments

Lyme disease is spread to humans through the bite of an infected blacklegged tick, known to most of us as a deer tick. It’s certainly true that deer offer fast and far-reaching transportation to tick populations. However, deer do not infect ticks with the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, nor do they contract the disease when an infected tick feeds on them. Rather, the big culprits are white-footed mice, known to transmit Lyme to up to 95 percent of the ticks that feed on them.

That’s why SavATree’s Tick Habitat Treatments get to the source of the infected ticks by placing material infused with tick-control ingredients in the areas on your landscape and periphery where the white-footed mice live.

Here’s how it works: Our cardboard tick tubes contain cotton balls infused with an ingredient that effectively reduces the tick population while leaving mice unharmed. Tubes are placed in strategic areas in the landscape and surrounding wooded areas. The mice bring the cotton balls back to their burrows to line their nests, and the ticks feeding on the mice then come into contact with the treated cotton.

Our Habitat Treatments are an effective way to reduce Lyme disease-carrying deer tick populations on your property without harming the mice or other wildlife, and the material is completely biodegradable.

Cultural Practices: Tips to Decrease the Risk of Lyme and Other Tick-borne Diseases

  • Reduce shady and damp areas in the parts of your lawn where the family recreates. Ticks prefer moisture, so fewer ticks will occupy the sunny areas of the lawn.
  • Keep the grass mowed, and keep weeds, leaf litter, and brush away from your home. Ticks can’t live in short vegetation.
  • Do not situate bird feeders near play and recreation areas.
  • Keep family recreational areas and play equipment a good distance away from the wood piles, stone walls, and other structures where mice often shelter.
  • Establish boundaries. Research shows approximately 90% of deer ticks on a property will be found in the ecotone area—the transition area between your yard and the woodline — while less than 2% will be found in lawn areas. So it’s wise to establish a three-foot gravel or wood-chip buffer zone between your yard and adjacent wooded areas and fields. The buffer also serves as a good “keep out!” visual cue for the kids.

Call today for a complimentary consultation to learn how our Organic Tick Control programs can provide safety, effectiveness—and peace of mind.