You might think the fall is the end of tick season and that you will soon be protected from tick 
bites with the approaching colder weather. If so, you are partially correct.
Ticks in Central Mass will begin to go dormant in weather below 45 degrees F. by hiding in the nests of white-footed mice. No amount of cold will eliminate ticks and there’s one other fact you need to know about the fall and ticks.
A tick’s life cycle is usually 2-years long. Ticks that were eggs last fall are now nymphs. They have taken two blood meals to reach this stage in their life cycle. Because of these two blood meals, often taken from several small animals or birds infected with Lyme Disease, they are now the most infectious to humans. Next spring these nymphs will leave the mouse’s nest. They will be the size of a poppy seed, making them difficult to see on our 
clothes and skin. After their third blood meal next spring, they will become larger during mid-summer and be adults in the fall of next year. At this last stage of their life cycle, the males will fertilize the females and the females will produce a new generation of ticks in your yard.
Westminster tick control is available now, to protect you next year.
Now is the time of year to interrupt the tick’s life cycle in your yard and reduce your exposure to nymph ticks next spring. By using a tick tube program, you can eliminate ticks around your home even before next spring. The tick tubes are placed out now will provide nesting material, treated with tick insecticide, the white-footed mouse will use to build its nest this winter. This nesting material will eliminate ticks in the nest without harming the mice. The net result is fewer ticks in your yard next spring and a head start at eliminating your family’s exposure to ticks all summer long.
When you sign up for Westminster tick control spray treatments next summer, it will eliminate 
85-90% of the ticks in your yard all summer long. Treatments are scheduled at your convenience every 21 days. The spray will eliminate newly hatched ticks, nymph ticks and adult ticks in your yard. Ticks brought into your yard by any animals such as squirrels, raccoons, fox and deer will be eliminated by the spray. Using the tick tube program now and the barrier spray next spring through next fall will reduce your exposure to tick-borne infections.
The town of Westminster has posted an online document explaining the Steps You Can Take in preventing ticks in your yard. The document highlights the importance of using a licensed applicator in treating your yard to prevent ticks. A link to a Tick Management Handbook published by the Centers for Disease Control and prevention is also in this informative document.
A licensed Westminster tick control spray applicator will be fully trained and qualified in providing the tick tube and barrier spray services you need to protect you, your family and pets.
