Is It Possible To Simply Rid Your Yard Of Ticks And Mosquitoes?

It was Christmas 2010 and I was completely incoherent, couldn't think straight and had excruciating hip joint pain, so much so that I wound up having emergency surgery, all due to Lyme disease. My sister Tina, who lives not far from Lyme, Connecticut, the epicenter of the Lyme epidemic, asked, "do you get your yard sprayed for ticks?" No, we had never heard of that. Didn't know it was even possible. Sure enough though, it is possible, and there is a new and growing industry built around spraying for ticks and mosquitoes.

The barrier spray business within the pest control world has blossomed into a growing field specialized in ridding yards of the ever increasing problem of ticks and mosquitoes. Ticks carry Lyme disease and other co-infections. Lyme has been called the great imitator and it is often misdiagnosed as Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic fatigue, Fibromyalgia, eye problems, hearing loss and sometimes even death. Mosquitoes are not only annoying but they can carry diseases including West Nile Virus. Both can be effectively eradicated.

Depending on the program offered, pest control companies will come out to your residence per a prescribed schedule and spray your yard for ticks and mosquitoes. The intervals of spraying generally are every three weeks during the "season". The season generally begins when the instances of these pests rise and when people start spending more time outside. Interesting to note, ticks do not hibernate, they are active all winter.

There are two methods of yard spraying. The first is the saturation method. Where pesticide is sprayed through a high powered hose on your grassy areas and fringe areas. The second and more common method is via a backpack sprayer. A backpack sprayer looks just like the leaf blower that the lawn service guys use. The difference being, instead of high powered blowing, the sprayer shoots out a very fine mist that will coat vegetation and with the correct pesticide, kill ticks and mosquitoes on contact and provide an invisible barrier that will last up to three weeks depending on the product.

There are many pesticide options for the professionals to use. The most common is pyrethroid based. Pyrethroids are comprised of the synthetic derivatives of the chrysanthemum flower. There are also organic options out there such as rosemary oil and to a lesser extent garlic. Who knew that a flower and herbs would kill ticks and mosquitoes?

This season it is possible to have a tick and mosquito free backyard.