Uptick in ticks: Keeping yourself protected from pests this summer

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – We seem to be hearing a lot lately about things coming back bigger than ever…but some of those things we could do without.

Back earlier and bigger than ever are ticks.

Their return also brings about a new concern.

It's one of the few things that could spoil the nice run of weather this week.

"Tick season started early and in pretty heavy so watch out for ticks," said Dr. Chad Gore, an entomologist at Ehrlich Pest Control.

veterinarian Dr. Mike Hutchinson.

Dr. Gore said they are out with a vengeance and veterinarian Dr. Mike Hutchinson said that they are a blood-red flag.

"Ticks are disease-carrying experts," Dr. Hutchinson said.

The threat of deer tick virus is real, a threat brought home by a study of black-legged ticks in nearby Clearfield County.

"They found the deer tick virus and 92-percent of the ticks and the most they had ever seen before that time, before this year, was 11-percent," said Dr. Hutchinson.

A tick on your dog could easily jump to you and if it has the deer tick virus…  

"It can spread within 15 minutes after you're bitten into, and it can cause encephalitis and meningitis," Dr. Hutchinson added.

Besides, a monthly tick and flea treatment for the dog, Dr. Hutchinson had other suggestions to keep you and your furry friend tick-free.

"You can put DEET on yourself, you can't put that on your pet," he said.  "I like the old 90-percent, the regular Listerine, the brown stuff not the minty-fresh, with 10-percent water in a spray bottle, and you spray it over your clothes and if the ticks get on you, it helps repel them off."

That mixture won't kill the ticks, but the smell is so offensive to them that they'll jump off of you.

Ticks are the real concern, while we have an issue with fleas, collars and treatments are doing well against them.

Meanwhile, the weather lately has been perfect for breeding mosquitos and they're taking advantage of it – big time.

That's leading to a rise in recommended home concoctions to get rid of them.

There is only so much we can do to avoid a mosquito problem like the West Nile Virus they carry but it takes work.

"I mean, we're definitely in mosquito season," Dr. Gore said. "We're definitely getting calls for mosquitoes, I think it happened a little bit earlier. I think we had a little bit of a kind of a warmer start to the season."

They may be tiny but their numbers are already causing a nuisance. At Ehrlich, Dr. Gore said a tiny bit of pooled water in your backyard is a welcome mat.

"Kids toys, potted plants, things of that nature that don't drain well, that will hold water," he explained.

So Gore said dump out the water and spray for the pest where they like to hang out.

"With mosquitoes, the resting spots are generally vegetation, so shrubs, the lower leaves of trees," he explained.

What about these home concoctions of mixing mouthwash, Epson salt, and stale beer?

"If it hits, it hits," Dr. Gore said. "It might work, I mean, mouthwash tends to have alcohol in it and we know alcohol has insecticidal properties when it's sprayed directly onto an insect. Salts, maybe, but you know I wouldn't depend on that to keep yourself mosquito-free in your yard."

He said to be safe, stick with a multi-agent approach.

"I wouldn't depend on this one plug-in or this one citronella candle that you burn," he said. "You need to have a combination, a mosquito system, if you will, of products and so forth."

Gore said the home concoction approach may have some effect but you have to use a lot of it.

So…is there anything else "bugging" Dr. Gore this summer?

He also mentioned the spotted lantern fly, which is really popping.