Ticks

While the warmer seasons are a great time for you and your family members to enjoy the outdoors, ticks will be there too, hiding in the foliage of your garden and ready for a bite. Ticks are responsible for the transmission of many diseases to both humans and animals. Out of all the arthropods, ticks spread the widest array of disease-causing organisms. When ticks feed on human blood they are capable of transmitting serious tick-borne diseases including Queensland tick typhus, Flinders Island spotted fever and Lyme disease. Ticks are ectoparasites that live on the blood of mammals, including humans.

For most people an infestation of ticks in the garden causes anything from a mild irritation to severe rashes and fevers with aches and pains. Extreme cases can even result in respiratory arrest and other forms of life threatening shock reactions. The aggravation of tick bites can be avoided through knowledge of tick biology and habitats as well as methods of tick control.