# Tick Control — Spider Squad

Spider Squad provides professional residential tick perimeter treatment across Ontario, targeting the vegetation zones where ticks wait for hosts on your property.

## The Ontario Tick Situation

Blacklegged tick (deer tick) populations — Ixodes scapularis, the primary vector of Lyme disease in Ontario — have expanded significantly across the province over the past decade. What was once limited to specific known risk areas (Point Pelee, Prince Edward County, Long Point) now includes broad swaths of southern, central, and cottage-country Ontario. The expansion is driven by warming temperatures and migratory birds.

American dog ticks (Dermacentor variabilis) are also widespread across Ontario. They do not transmit Lyme disease in Ontario but can cause Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and tick paralysis in rare cases. They're common in tall grass and shrubby margins.

## Risk: Where Ticks Are in Your Yard

The open, mowed center of a lawn is very low risk — UV exposure and desiccation kill ticks. The risk is concentrated at edges and transitions:

- Lawn edge adjacent to garden beds or trees: **high** — primary questing zone
- Leaf litter piles: **very high** — ticks overwinter here
- Wood or brush piles: **high** — harbors mice and chipmunks (primary tick hosts)
- Garden border shrubs: **high** — shaded, humid, perfect questing vegetation
- Naturalized or unmowed areas: **very high**
- Open mowed lawn: **very low**

Approximately 80% of yard tick encounters happen within 3 metres of the lawn edge.

## Treatment Approach

We target tick habitat zones, not the open lawn:

**Lawn-to-garden transition band:** The 1 to 3 metre strip where mowed lawn meets garden borders, shrub bases, and naturalized areas. This is where most encounters happen.

**Wood and fence lines:** Base of fences, stacked wood, and dense debris along property edges support the small mammal activity that sustains tick populations.

**Shaded shrub interiors:** Dense ornamental shrubs and foundation plantings that hold moisture are prime tick resting habitat. Accessible interior zones and outer perimeters of high-density plantings are treated.

## Treatment Schedule: Two Windows in Ontario

**Spring treatment (late April to May):** Targets blacklegged tick nymphs as they become active. Nymphs are the highest-risk life stage — poppy-seed sized (1 to 2 mm), easy to miss during tick checks, and active during peak outdoor season. Nymphs require 24 to 36+ hours of attachment to transmit Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease bacteria). Spring treatment before nymph peak is the single most effective intervention.

**Fall treatment (September to October):** Targets adult blacklegged ticks seeking their final blood meal before winter. Adults are larger and more visible than nymphs but are still active on warm fall days. Fall treatment completes season-long coverage.

## Habitat Reduction (Helps Significantly)

Treatment reduces ticks in treated zones. Habitat reduction makes the yard less hospitable overall:
- Remove leaf litter piles — ticks overwinter in them
- Keep grass mowed short, especially along garden borders
- Clear wood debris from lawn edges
- Consider wood chip or gravel barriers between lawn and wooded/naturalized areas (ticks avoid crossing dry, exposed zones)

## Tick-Check Practice

Even with yard treatment, tick checks remain important after time spent outdoors — particularly in unmanaged areas, parks, and trails. Check behind knees, in the groin, armpits, behind ears, and along the hairline. Shower within two hours of outdoor activity.

Lyme disease transmission from a blacklegged tick requires approximately 24 to 36 hours of attachment — prompt removal dramatically reduces risk.

## Combining with Other Services

Tick treatment can be combined with mosquito yard treatment (same visit, compatible application zones) or booked standalone. Also commonly booked alongside spider control for complete spring perimeter protection.

## To Book

Call 905-935-7498 or request a quote through your regional page at spidersquad.ca.