Posted by
Thames
15 yrs ago
My next door neighbour chopped down an enormous tree a few days ago and suddenly we are infested with bugs crawling all over our exterior walls; apparently they swarmed out from the tree stump. They are small, quite fat and round with pincer-like antennae, and other neighbours, also affected, are saying they're tree ticks and are harmful to humans. Having Googled them, I think they're right about them being ticks of some kind. I'm hoping their visit is temporary and they might set off for other trees in the far distance but as I don't want them settling in our shrubs I'm wondering if anyone has had a similiar experience and can suggest ways to get shot of the ticks without the need for calling in a $$$ pest control company? (I was quoted silly money before for a company to come in and despatch seasonal flying ants using exactly the same equipment I could buy from Wellcome, so am hesitant to pay if I can do it myself.)
Thanks
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If they are ticks ensure that if you have animals dogs/cats that their treatment is up to date. They will be deadly otherwise. Cara is correct, call the environmental hygiene department on 2189 2748.
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Thanks for your replies - will call the environment hygiene department.
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You should check humans and pets for ticks once or twice a day. Check under hair as well.
As JJChan says, make sure they are treated with Advantix, Frontline or similar. This will keep most ticks from biting, although they may still sit there on the skin.
If you do find a tick that has bitten, you need to get the entire tick including the head, out. On a dog, you can just grab some skin along with the head to make sure it all comes out. Dogs typically don't mind much.
On humans, doing it that way can be pretty painful. Here's a trick: Get some local anesthetic ointment (for example lidocaine) at the pharmacy. Put some on the tick and wait 30 seconds. It will become anesthetized and loosen its grip. Pull out gently ensuring you get the head. This trick also works on dogs and cats of course.
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Thanks for advice. I have been away for two days and the bugs all seem to have disappeared now, so I'm hoping they've gone for good without the need for major pest control. I wonder what they are - the body of the specimen I slayed with fly spray is over 3mm long/wide (in other words, fairly big), and shiny, round ball-shaped and black. As far as I know, none of my neighbours' dogs got bitten.
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Ticks vary greatly in size as they feed. They start out quite small but the abdomen can swell almost to the size of a currant once they have fed for a while.
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