Lyme Disease and Related Tick-Borne Infections - Prevention

Prevention

Everyone should avoid specific tick-infested areas, including tall grass, woods, and bushes where ticks tend to congregate. If this is not possible, people should take additional preventive measures. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also recommends:

• Use of tick repellant
• Routine tick checks -- removal of infected ticks within 48 hours of attachment substantially reduces the likelihood of transmission.
• Prompt antibiotic prevention for tick bites -- although this method is controversial, the CDC concludes that it is probably beneficial.
• Removing brush and leaves -- such landscaping measures can reduce transmission rates by 50 - 90%.
• Applying pesticides to yards once or twice per year, which can decrease the number of ticks by 68 - 100%

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Protecting Property from Tick Infestation

Mowing the grass regularly, clearing away leaves, and placing wood chips as a barrier around a lawn can help greatly reduce the tick population.

Permethrin for the Lawn. Insecticides can significantly reduce tick infestation. Insecticides should be applied in late spring or early fall in a strip a few feet wide along the perimeter of the lawn where small animals are likely to enter or live.

The most commonly used insecticides are pyrethrins, which are compounds derived from the Chrysanthemum family. They are available as natural products or in synthetic forms (permethrin). They are poisons that affect the nerve system of insects. However, they are safe, particularly the natural products, for humans and pets. All pyrethrins are highly toxic for certain fish and slightly toxic for birds, such as mallard ducks. Some people do experience an allergic reaction to them. As with all insecticides, there is some concern about the possible consequences of long-term exposure, but to date there is no evidence of any harm.

Cardboard tubes stuffed with permethrin-treated cotton are available in hardware stores. The tubes are placed where mice can find them (dense, dark brush) and collect the cotton for lining their nests. The pesticide on the cotton kills any immature ticks that are feeding on the mice. Best results are obtained with regular applications early in the spring and again in late summer.