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East End Tick Control®

A Brief History of Lyme Disease

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history of lyme diseaseSometimes, we believe that just because we weren’t aware of something previously, it must be new. Many people feel that way about Lyme disease.

They believe that because the tick-borne disease has been well-publicized in the last few decades, that must be when it started. Unfortunately, that’s not true.

Unlike the SARS virus and various flu viruses that mutate and expand their ability to infect people, Lyme disease is not caused by a virus but a bacterium that hasn’t changed much in the last 60,000 years.
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The CDC and Its Tick Surveillance and Collection

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tickWhile you are taking steps to protect yourself, your family, and your pets from ticks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and other state and local agencies are gathering data to help inform and protect the public. Those agencies ensure facts are accurate to drive public policy decisions regarding these disease-transmitting pests.

What Is Tick Surveillance?

Tick surveillance is the scientific collection of ticks and tick-related environmental samples. Its goal is to identify all tick species in a specific area and test for tick-borne pathogens. Entomologists document, collect, and study the ticks and samples, and then they report the data to health agencies for analysis.

How Is Tick Surveillance Used?

Tick surveillance data monitors the presence and number of ticks in a specific area and follows how this information changes over time. It also documents infection levels in disease-carrying tick species.

Public health agencies use this information to make strategic decisions about tick control programs and resource allocation. Additionally, the data is used to communicate to the public the likelihood of encounters with pathogen-carrying ticks in the area of interest.

Tick surveillance programs do not monitor or report https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/lyme/tick-borne disease in human or veterinary patients; that data is gathered separately through state and local health departments. Personal identifiers are then removed, and information is shared with the CDC through the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).

Why Is Tick Surveillance Important?

It is critical to know where ticks are active to properly assess the risk of tick-borne diseases in humans and animals. Some illnesses, including Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, babesiosis, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, can be debilitating or fatal to humans.

How Accurate Is Tick Surveillance?

Like any scientific enterprise, the information resulting from tick surveillance experiences a lag between data collection and publication, and promulgation. Tick populations are constantly shifting and changing, so it is wise for residents of areas where ticks may be present to be vigilant.

Call East End Tick Control for Peace of Mind Protection

Call East End Tick Control® if you see ticks or suspect their presence on your property or home, call East End Tick Control®. We are Eastern Suffolk County’s most-experienced tick control company, providing the Twin Forks and East End with the most effective pest control treatments since 1997. Protect your family from disease-carrying ticks year-round by requesting a free estimate now or by calling our Southampton office at (631) 287-9700, our East Hampton office at (631) 324-9700, or our Southold office at (631) 765-9700.

Were Mosquitoes Around in Prehistoric Times?

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prehistoric mosquitosMosquitos have been a pest for a long time – but how long? With the sixth and newest Jurassic Park film, Jurassic World: Dominion, set to arrive in theaters this spring, it’s a good time to look at how old mosquitos are.

As most of you are probably aware, in the films, scientists were able to get dinosaur DNA from blood samples found in the stomachs of prehistoric mosquitos that had been trapped in amber. Is that just a fanciful idea for a science fiction movie, or are mosquitoes so old that they could have bitten dinosaurs?

What Is the Oldest Mosquito?

First of all, did mosquitos exist simultaneously the giant sauropods of antiquity? According to Dr. Ralph Harbach of the Natural History Museum in London, it’s entirely possible.

“Since some of today’s mosquitoes also feed on reptiles, could the more ancient mosquitoes have sucked from a dinosaur?” Dr. Harbach said: “it’s possible. Evidence suggests mosquitoes evolved in the Jurassic Period (200-146 million years ago). If the early ancestral mosquitoes had already evolved to feed on blood, it is conceivable that they may have fed on dinosaurs.”

How Does a Mosquito Get into Amber?

Amber is fossilized tree sap, and tree sap is often sweet-smelling. The most common theory is that mosquitoes would land on a tree branch attracted by the smell and get trapped. Over the centuries, the amber would fossilize, preserving the insect. It is a comparatively typical process, and many types of prehistoric insects have been found preserved this way.

Were There Giant Mosquitoes in Prehistoric Times?

There were giant insects deep in Earth’s past, a side effect of much higher oxygen levels in the atmosphere allowing them to reach sizes that sometimes approached several feet, just like something in a movie. These titans of the insect world attained their largest sizes approximately 300 million years ago, But, as Dr. Harbach pointed out, mosquitos evolved around 200 million years ago.

While it is entertaining to contemplate, there were no genuinely giant mosquitoes back then or in the intervening years. The mosquito’s primary size and shape have hardly changed over the years since prehistoric times.

Did Mosquitoes Evolve from Flies?

No, mosquitos did not evolve from flies; technically, they are flies. Mosquitoes are members of almost 3,600 species of small flies that are part of the family Culicidae (from the Latin culex meaning “gnat”).

East End Tick Control® Eliminates Mosquitoes

If these age-old pests plague your Long Island home, contact us. We can eliminate them and ensure that they do not return. We are proud to note that all of our options are family and pet safe. For those living near Southampton, please call (631) 287-9700 . If you are closer to East Hampton, please call (631) 324-9700. If you reside near Southold, please call (631) 765-9700. You can always email us as well. We look forward to hearing from you!

Melting Snow + Warmer Temperatures = Increased Tick Activity

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ticks and snowWhile spring might not officially be here yet, it’s not too early to start checking for ticks. Conventional wisdom tells us that cold winter and lots of snow help kill off insects, including ticks. So it feels like we should be safe from the little critters as the snow melts and we start to see warmer temperatures, and sadly, that’s not necessarily the case.

Epidemiologists in Minnesota conducted a study a few years ago that showed heavy snowfalls might protect ticks from the frigid cold necessary to kill them. So when the snow melts, deer ticks might be very abundant.

But what do deer ticks in Minnesota have to do with ticks on Long Island? While the climate might not be the same, the principle is that the melting snow and warming temperatures might increase tick activity that people aren’t expecting.

As the snow melts and the temperatures increase, it’s more important than ever to check yourself, your family, and your pets for ticks after you’ve been outside. Tick activity is on the rise, even if it isn’t “tick season” just yet.

Are More Ticks Surviving Through Winter?

While there will be some variation year over year, the short answer is yes. Due to climate change and global warming, more ticks survive through winter leading to earlier tick seasons and more ticks.

A 2008 study discovered that climate change significantly influences the spread and population growth of ticks all over the world. In short, as we start seeing shorter winters, we’re also going to know a lot more ticks. Without frigid temperatures to kill them off, the tick population is just going to continue to look for people and animals to feed on.

Can Ticks Freeze to Death?

Yes, cold weather can help decrease the population of ticks, but it has to be colder than most people like and for a more extended period. The temperature must be below 10 degrees for multiple consecutive days for a significant die-off in ticks.

Worse yet, ticks like it when it’s wet, so melting snow is just about perfect for them. The temperature has to get above freezing for the snowmelt and ticks like humidity, and they prefer humidity at 85 percent or higher, so wet melting snow is good for them.

Are Ticks Harmful?

In addition to that creepy-crawly feeling that ticks bring, they can also be very dangerous to your family’s health and your pet’s health. In 2019, more than 8% of the ticks from Suffolk County submitted for testing at the SUNY Center contained some vector-borne pathogen. With the increasing number of ticks, the risk of infection also grows.

Call East End Tick Control® for Year-Round Tick Prevention

Are you looking for other ways to protect your family from ticks and the diseases they carry? Contact us to discuss mitigation options. East End Tick and Mosquito Control® is Suffolk County’s most-experienced pest control company. For more than 20 years, we have been using the most effective extermination methods to protect yourself and your family. Request a free estimate now or call our Southampton office at (631) 287-9700 , our East Hampton office at (631) 324-9700, or our Southold office at (631) 765-9700.

Why Were Genetically Modified Mosquitoes Released in the U.S.?

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genetically modified mosquitoWouldn’t it be wonderful to live in a world with no mosquitoes? There would be no need to slather on bug repellent in the summer, and you could sleep with the windows open without being dive-bombed by droning mosquitoes all night. More importantly, mosquito-borne diseases could disappear, it could eradicate Zika virus, West Nile virus, Chikungunya virus, malaria, and dengue fever. Livestock and pets would benefit from mosquito-borne disease eradication as well. To this end, several countries, including the United States, have deployed transgenic mosquitoes to reduce mosquito populations drastically.
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The Life Cycle of Ticks

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tick life cyclesOne of the best ways to avoid tick encounters and minimize the likelihood of contracting a tick-borne illness is to understand their life cycle. If you are bitten by a tick, knowing where it’s at in its development will help you determine your risk of disease and the course of action you need to take.
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The Malaria Vaccine Fact Sheet

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malaria vaccine faqBecause it’s primarily a problem in tropical areas, Americans don’t usually think about malaria unless they’re traveling to places where malaria is prevalent. But malaria is a dangerous disease spread by mosquitos. Worldwide 241 million cases of malaria and 627,000 deaths occurred in 2020, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

While malaria is a problem worldwide, deaths from malaria disproportionately occur in Africa, according to WHO. Worse, children younger than five years old make up 80% of the deaths in Africa. That’s why the news that a malaria vaccine has finally been developed was a momentous medical achievement.
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A History of Ticks – Everything You Need to Know

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history of ticksTicks are a kind of parasitic mite that lives off the blood of animals. They will attach to and feed on mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. Ticks have eight legs, just like spiders, and are classified as arachnids. Adult ticks are generally between 3 and 5mm long, depending on the species. They come in soft and hard varieties, depending on the hardness of their body covering. Nearly 900 species of ticks are known to exist worldwide.

Ticks expand when they feed, increasing their body weight by up to 600 times. They extract blood by nibbling a hole in the host’s skin and inserting a small sharp, straw-like structure directly into the host. To help in feeding, they excrete a chemical that keeps the blood from clotting.

Did Dinosaurs Have Ticks?

How long have ticks been around? To answer the question, we must go to the fossil record. While the precise origin of ticks is unknown, according to ABC News, the oldest preserved tick was discovered in 2006 encased in amber. It dates to near 90 million years old (from the Cretaceous Period). Evidence shows that prehistoric ticks fed from “feathered dinosaurs, non-avialan or avialan excluding crown-group birds.” So yes, dinosaurs had ticks.

Are Ticks All Over the World?

Ticks are seen almost everywhere on earth. They do have particular preferences about where they live, including –

  • They thrive in warmer, wetter climates since low temperatures stunt the growth of their eggs.
  • They prefer areas of transition between woodlands and fields or open spaces.
  • They like plenty of leaves, low-lying vegetation, and moist, warm places where brush and weeds grow wild.

How Dangerous Are Ticks?

Unfortunately, ticks are very harmful to both animals and humans. According to National Institute of Health experts, “Tick-borne pathogens are believed to be responsible for more than 100,000 cases of illness in humans throughout the world. Ticks are considered to be second worldwide to mosquitoes as vectors of human diseases, but they are the most important vectors of disease-causing pathogens in domestic and wild animals.”

Ticks can spread several diseases to humans, including Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Colorado tick fever, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and Lyme disease.

When Was Lyme Disease First Discovered?

As mentioned earlier, ticks have been around for close to 100 million years. While the bacteria that causes Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) was only officially named in 1981, a 5,300-year-old mummy was recently found to contain the bacteria.

Those infected with Lyme disease may experience a rash, joint pain and weakness, muscle aches, fatigue, fever, joint stiffness or swelling, and headache. While treatable, early detection can help avoid more severe heart or nervous system problems. A doctor can run a simple test to determine if the bacteria is present and prescribe medication as treatment.

How Do I Prevent Ticks?

As previously discussed, ticks love humid places with low vegetation to lay their eggs. One way to help manage ticks is to remove leaves, brush, and weeds at the edge of your property. Regular warm-weather tick spraying and preventative winter treatments can provide year-round tick prevention.

Trust Your Property with East End Tick and Mosquito Control®

East End Tick and Mosquito Control® is Eastern Suffolk County’s most-experienced tick extermination company. Since 1997, we have provided Suffolk County’s Twin Forks and East End with the most effective prevention and extermination methods. Protect yourself and your family from disease-carrying ticks by requesting a free estimate now or you can call our Southampton office at (631) 287-9700, our East Hampton office at (631) 324-9700, or our Southold office at (631) 765-9700.

What Happens to Mosquitoes in the Winter?

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mosquitos in winterThere have been snow flurries, and people have hung up lights and ornaments for the winter holidays. It is December, and winter has officially begun. So why did you get bit by a mosquito in your own home? Mosquitoes typically shut down as the weather gets colder, but they have become more active despite the cold temperatures due to many factors. Let’s look at some and how they can be avoided or eliminated.
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