It’s Halloween Eve eve. Have you invited ticks into your yard?

Pumpkin patches are abuzz and fall vibes are present everywhere we look. This includes ours and our neighbors’ front yards. Pumpkins, hay stacks, and fallen leaves – OH, MY!

pumpkins and ticks — Ticks are not just in pumpkin patches. They could be in your yard too!

Be wary of ticks through the end of fall.

ticks are all tick, no treat — Ticks are all trick, no treat!

Adult female ticks, much like Dracula, are out for blood. Your blood, your dog’s blood, any old blood will do. Why are they so hungry this time of year? It’s actually not hunger that drives these ticks to take a blood meal. It’s more primal than hunger. It’s an innate need for a protein that is found in blood, which is consumed by adult female ticks (more in the fall than ever), in order to fertilize her eggs. Their inborn drive to reproduce is what drives adult female ticks. And if you are not careful, you will drive them right to your front door!

It’s less likely that you have a tick on your skin if you are wearing pants and long sleeves. But one great way to bring a tick home from the pumpkin patch is on your clothes. Your kids and pets are different stories. They are closer to the ground, and are often on the ground this time of year. Leaf piles are ever-present and far too tempting for kids and dogs to pass up in the fall. Small stature makes our little ones more susceptible to tick bites any time of year, but many forget that ticks are still out in the fall. When we return home from fall festivals, hay rides, pumpkin patches, or our own front lawns, it is essential that a full tick check be performed. On ourselves, as well as our kids and pets!

TICK TIP: You can place your clothing on high heat in the dryer for 10 minutes just in case your clothing might have a tick after being outdoors.

Here’s a bit of tick control hocus pocus!

I would never recommend not decorating your home and yard for the fall season to prevent ticks from entering your yard. What I would recommend is effective tick control measure be taken. Since our yards are even more agreeable tick habitats in the fall, you should enlist the help of a professional tick control company. You can have your entire yard treated with barrier tick protection, and embolden protection with tick tubes. Tick tubes will continue to work through late fall and winter.

Dave Macchia, tick control enthusiast — Dave Macchia, Central Mass tick control enthusiast

It’s easy to forget about ticks when it’s cooler outside. Let this be your friendly reminder that they are out there. They are on the move. Be sure your home and family are protected!

Also read: When should I stop treating my yard for ticks?

Can you get a tick bite in October? November?

Do ticks bite in the fall? As you might know, ticks are not yet ready to go into their cold-weather dormancy. You can be bitten by a tick in October and November. You can even get a tick bite beyond the fall season. Ticks can quest any time of year, weather permitting. Typically, adult ticks will retreat to their winter hideaways when temperatures are consistently below 45°F. However, it is not unheard of for a tick to be found out and about on a warm winter’s day. It is rare, but possible to receive a tick bite in the winter, even in Central Mass.

Ticks can and do bite in the fall.

Which ticks bite in the fall?

Adult deer ticks are at peak activity in the fall. Larval ticks will molt during the fall and winter, and emerge as nymphs in the springtime. Nymph ticks will grow into adults over the winter, emerging to feed and mate in the spring. If you are spending time outdoors in October and November, you should still be performing tick checks.

You can control ticks in the fall and winter too.

There is no reason to stop your tick control efforts with the change of season. There are a lot of reasons that you should never halt tick control around your home and property. To name a few: Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Powassan disease, Tularemia.

Reputable tick control companies offer year-round tick control via tick tubes. Tick tubes are unlikely heroes in the fight against rising tick populations. By treating your property for ticks through the fall and winter, you are essentially interrupting the entire tick life cycle. Treated cotton that originates in the tick tubes will be carried by ground rodents to their nests, where ticks can come in contact with it. This tick treatment will eliminate any tick species in any phase of its life – ensuring that the number of ticks that emerge around your home in the springtime are less than they would otherwise have been.

Dave Macchia, Central Mass tick control enthusiast

There is no reason to avoid going outdoors in the beautiful fall weather. Be sure that your yard is protected from the threat of ticks all year long, and do not skip the tick check process when you come back inside.

Tag: do ticks bite in the fall

Ticks Are All Trick, No Treat