Why should your business invest in a tick and flea service?

By ElRay Roper, Senior Technical Representative, Syngenta Professional Pest Management

The past year has produced a flurry of national attention on the dangers of tick- and flea-borne diseases. While Lyme disease and, most recently, the Powassan virus grab most of the headlines, other tick-borne diseases include babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, relapsing fever and Rickettsial infections like Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The most common diseases vectored by fleas are Murine typhus and the plague.

Statistics show that there has been a steady increase in the incidence of tick-borne diseases across the country.¹ Tick and flea control can be an excellent add-on service for your business to help keep these disease vectors out of your customers’ properties.

Ticks and fleas can be common pests around residences in suburban and rural settings, particularly where homes border natural areas. Even if there are no domestic animals present, both pests can be a problem in customers’ yards if there are wild animals nearby like rodents, opossums or deer.

A successful approach for treating for ticks outdoors includes the following:

• Treating tall grass and undergrowth in and around the property using a backpack, pump or power sprayer.
• Using sufficient spray volume to move particles into the plant canopy for thorough coverage of the foliage.
• Focusing treatments on outdoor areas where pets may contact landscape vegetation

Similarly, the following tactics should be used when treating outdoors for fleas:

• Encourage property owners to have their pets treated for fleas with an EPA-registered, on-animal insecticide, or with an effective flea powder, spray, dip, shampoo or oral product.
• Treat outdoor areas where pets and other animals are known to frequent, and where previous infestations have been known to occur
• Treat shaded areas under decks, porches and landscape vegetation using either hand-held or power spray equipment

When treating outdoor areas for ticks and fleas, a microencapsulated pyrethroid insecticide like Demand^® CS insecticide will give extended residual control of adults and nymphs. Using an insect growth regulator (IGR) like Archer^® IGR will also help break these pests’ reproductive cycles. Both products can be used together as part of the SecureChoice^sm Flea and Tick Assurance Program, which provides up to 90 days of control.

Give your customers peace of mind and generate additional revenue with a tick and flea add-on service. For more information, visit the SecureChoice Flea and Tick Assurance Program webpage.

¹www.pestworld.org/news-hub/pest-articles/tick-borne-illness-on-the-rise/

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©2017 Syngenta. Important: Always read and follow label instructions. Some products may not be registered for sale or use in all states or counties and/or may have state-specific use requirements. Please check with your local extension service to ensure registration and proper use. Archer^®, Demand^®, For Life Uninterrupted™, SecureChoice^sm and the Syngenta logo are trademarks of a Syngenta Group Company. Syngenta Customer Center: 1-866-SYNGENT(A) (796-4368).