Who do I hate more than ticks? Hmm, well let me see.… Oh, last summer I had the extremely dubitable pleasure of seeing quite a few of them close up. My dog would bring ticks into our home and the only way to get rid of these little jerks back then, was to remove them manually with tweezers. Thank God I was not the only one tickpocalypsed. My good friend was there to cheer me late in the night. Well, to be fair, she was so disgusted by the entire thing that her idea of “support” was to sit a very, very long way away.
So that’s all you need to know about ticks, right? Disgusting, creepy and I hope to never encounter them again. I get shudders just thinking about them. So these were tick eggs… and you can understand the fear in me when I first viewed them… I legit froze in place like I was in some kind of low-budget horror movie — all I could think was, “Nope. Nope. Nope. Burn the yard.”
Now, for those who are blessed with encountering very few ticks in their life, they are tiny, blood-sucking ticks that are not only frustrating but they carry diseases for both pets and people. They’re a bit like the unwanted guests of the natural world, but instead of just a boring evening, they also give you the chance of Lyme disease, fever, and a bunch of other things you definitely don’t want.
So if you do encounter a tick, what’s your next move? First rule of Tick Club: Don’t panic. Easier said than done, by the way — when I first saw one crawling up my leg, I performed an unfortunately public panic-dance-scream combo I hope the neighbors didn’t have their cameras out for. Using fine-tipped tweezers, seize the tick as close to the skin surface as you can. Clench with constant, moderate resistance as you pull up. The target is to get the tick out in one plectrum without squashing it into pieces and leaving bits under the skin. After removing the tick, clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol, an iodine scrub, or soap and water. Don’t crush the tick with your fingers. Dispose of it by soaking it in alcohol, enclosing it in a bag or container, covering it with tape or flushing it down the toilet.
Just to be clear here: it is always highly recommended to visit a doctor rather than attempting to remove a tick yourself. It is much better to have a professional remove the tick from your body.
But let’s backtrack to where our nightmare began: tick eggs. How do you identify them? Well, tick eggs are tiny but not invisible. They’re often reddish-brown and are laid in clusters that can look like a small, slightly gross pearl necklace. If you stumble upon these in your garden, brace yourself. Each of those tiny eggs represents a potential future tick that could find its way onto you or your pets.
The danger of tick eggs lies in their numbers. A single female tick can lay thousands of eggs at a time. This means that not taking action could result in a tick infestation. I had a mini meltdown imagining a thousand baby ticks crawling out like some backyard horror film — I didn’t sleep right for two nights. And with ticks comes the risk of disease transmission, not to mention the sheer ick factor of knowing they’re breeding in your backyard.
Well, then, how do you get rid of and destroy tick eggs? Carefully. Extra carefully, to be clear. When I found a bunch of tick eggs hiding in a shaded corner of my garden, I prepared like I was about to go into war (because it sort of was). I wore gloves, and slid the eggs one by one into a jar of rubbing alcohol. This technique ensures they are killed right off the bat. It also is important to look around in the area where you find the eggs, but not just for more clusters of them, also for ticks themselves. Once you take care of the eggs, scrub the area well. I sprayed that spot with a solution of water and permethrin, which is a pesticide that works on ticks, but remember to take care and follow the instructions on whatever product you wind up using.
Preventive measures are your best bet in the war against ticks. Here are some things you can do:
- Keep your lawn mowed and bushes trimmed.
- Create a barrier with wood chips or gravel between your lawn and wooded areas to restrict tick migration into recreational areas.
- Use tick repellents on clothing and gear when venturing into wooded or grassy areas.
- Treat pets with veterinarian-approved tick prevention products.
- Regularly check your pets, yourself, and your family for ticks after spending time outdoors.
It can be pretty scary to find tick eggs in your yard, I so can relate! Found then numerous of times. But really, there’s nothing to be too worried about. With a little bit of proactive behavior and some basic habits, you can keep your yard safe and free of ticks. I used to absolutely freak out if I saw a tick was on my sock, and now I can handle their creepy little eggs without squirming, so trust me, there is hope. A few days ago my sister told me that my niece had a tick on her arm. But with all these information, I knew very well how to handle that kind of situation. My sister freaked out though.
If you enjoy the outdoors as much as I do, ticks are just an irksome aspect of life at times. You cannot do anything about that. Being outdoors means possible tick encounters. It’s all about staying on guard, knowing what to look for and acting when necessary. It’s not that hard, just…. don’t panic.
