Ticks are small, but they are very tough. So, while they may act dead in cold weather, they are only mostly dead. Since these insects are so small, it’s easy for them to burrow under leaves and other yard debris and wait out the winter.
Not all ticks hibernate during the winter. Large adult deer ticks remain active. If the temperature is above 32 degrees, which is pretty common in Alabama, they search for hosts.
The good news is that an unusually mild winter does not significantly increase the spring population, although the warmer weather does make ticks more active in the winter. So, even if the mercury does not drop too much, these insects are still fairly easy to control. The more you can thin out the population by spring, the better. That’s when each female lays up to 3,000 eggs.
How Environmental Conditions Affect Ticks
Cold weather does not kill ticks, but some other environmental factors could affect the threat they pose to your pets and your family.
Coffee Trays and Egg Cartons
This is a rather neat trick. Rather than burn citronella candles to keep mosquitoes away, carefully burn some of these items outside and allow them to smolder. The resulting scent is pleasing to people but offensive to mosquitoes.
Spring weather during the egg-laying season may affect the local tick population more than winter’s chill, or what passes for winter’s chill in Alabama. If the weather is warm in early spring, females begin laying their eggs about a week earlier. More eggs mean that more ticks survive. Humidity also increases the tick survival rate.
The number of hosts also affects the tick population. The more mice and deer there are, the more potential hosts there are.
How We Deal with Ticks
Some exterminators show up, spray chemicals, and hope for the best. But there is a much better approach.
Our technicians start by inspecting your yard. They look for potential nesting and hibernation areas. That usually means eaves and flower beds. These parts of your yard receive special attention. Ticks cannot jump. They must crawl. So, they usually stay very close to their nesting/hibernation areas until they climb onto a host. That’s especially true during the winter.
Winter is normally pretty wet in Alabama. So, after they clear your property, out technicians lay down granules about thirty feet from the house. These granules endure the rain, break down over time, and keep neighborhood ticks from coming onto your property.
If A Plus Pest Control kills ticks during the winter, your family will have a much better spring, summer, and fall.
