It's tick season: Here's what you need to know about spraying to control them

Ticks take over lawns and yards across Long Island in the warm spring and summer months and stick around into the fall. And like many of us, they enjoy dining al fresco.

Many homeowners have turned to professional pest control companies to spray their yards to eliminate or at least control the tick population. Others prefer to tackle it on their own with store-bought tick killers and repellents.

While not all tick bites cause diseases, such as Lyme disease, or trigger the red meat allergy known as alpha-gal syndrome, public health experts urge Long Islanders to be wary of these hearty arachnids, many of whom survived this past winter under the cover of snow.

"I think most people come in contact with ticks in their yards ... and yards can be risky areas," said Scott Campbell, Suffolk County’s chief entomologist, who oversees tick surveillance. "People have a tendency to take precautions if they are going for a hike, but not if they are in their backyards."

Do you need to spray?

The first step is figuring out if you have ticks in your yard and where they are.

"Not everyone has to spray," Campbell said. "You really have to assess the problem."

Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, an entomologist based in Babylon and associate director at Cornell University’s Integrated Pest Management program, suggested a simple DIY approach. Take a light-colored piece of flannel and attach it to something like a broom handle and sweep it across the grass to look for ticks.

"The flannel is really a perfect substance, because the tick is kind of tangled up in there, and they don't fall off easily," she said.

What sprays work?

People looking for ways to get ticks out of their yards may turn to insecticides which are designed to kill insects and other arthropods.

One of the most common types is pyrethroids, manufactured chemicals which are similar to pyrethrins, natural insecticides found in some chrysanthemum flowers. Permethrin and bifenthrin are two pyrethroids found in pesticide sprays that can be purchased over the counter by homeowners as well in those used by professionals.

Organic or natural sprays, which use ingredients such as garlic, peppermint, rosemary, cedarwood oil and lemongrass oil instead of chemicals, are another option.

"Studies have shown they're not as effective as the pyrethroids and they don't last as long," said Campbell. "They have to be reapplied every few weeks, whereas if you use a pyrethroid, it's reapplied every 90 days."

Synthetic vs. natural options

A 2024 study noted that the number of products using botanical oils and other natural substances not regulated by the EPA are "proliferating in the marketplace," but there are concerns about their ability to kill and repel ticks.

It points to research showing products with synthetic pyrethroids suppress blacklegged ticks for at least six weeks, while those with natural ingredients only last for about one to three weeks. Those with natural ingredients need multiple applications to be as effective as the synthetic pyrethroids.

There are some exceptions. According to research published in 2021, some "green" products that use pyrethrins from chrysanthemum flowers and a compound found in Alaska yellow cedar showed prolonged tick-killing activity after two weeks.

"The natural products are getting better and better every year," said Dennis Stein, owner of Mosquito Joe of South Shore Long Island. "I think we are heading to a time where the all-natural products will be able to eliminate and repel ticks and mosquitoes and we won't be using chemicals anymore."

Stein said the cost of applications depends on the size of the property and how much needs to be treated but can range from $99 to $200.

Are the products safe?

When used properly, tick control products with synthetic pyrethroids have a "low toxicity to humans and pets," Campbell said. 

That means removing items, such as toys, from the lawn before spraying and avoid ingesting the spray through your skin and your nose. People who have had significant exposure may experience dizziness, headache, nausea, reduced energy and convulsions according to the federal Centers for Disease Control.

In addition, homeowners, kids and pets should stay off the lawn until the sprayed application is dry. While that could take less than an hour, New York State requires notices on the property the day of application stating not to enter the area for 24 hours.

Pyrethroids are highly toxic around invertebrates such as ticks and fish, Campbell said. "You wouldn’t want to spray it around a koi pond or next to a stream."

Because these pesticides can also affect important pollinators such as butterflies and bees, they should not be sprayed on flowers.

Tick tubes

Tick tubes are small devices designed for mice to help with tick control.

The small tubes are filled with cotton treated with permethrin, which kills ticks but doesn't hurt the mice. The mice go into the tubes, grab the cotton to use as bedding in their nests. Ticks who try to feed on the treated mice are killed.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University determined the devices were effective in cutting back the number of ticks on mice. But the tubes should be replaced every month. They also found the mice used the cotton from the tubes more often the longer the tubes were available.

Cleaning up your yard

Making your backyard less inviting to ticks is key to controlling them.

During a recent job in Great River, Stein watched three large wild turkeys slowly walk across several lawns on a sunny morning. During his next stop in Islip, a lone deer munched the front lawn. It is likely all were carrying ticks.

"The best thing you can do is put up as much fence as possible to keep them out," said Stein, who educates customers about habitat modification.

"Leaves usually pile up against fences and sometimes they are there for years," he said. "That becomes a high tick area because it's damp, it's cool, it's wet, and they like to stay there."

Mice and other small mammals that carry ticks also hide in leaves to protect themselves from predators, Campbell said. "Get rid of any kind of underbrush, any kind of vegetation you don't want. It will also dry out the area and provide less territory for rodents. That will reduce your ticks."

Surrounding vegetable gardens with small fences can also keep away deer, which carry ticks far and wide.

"Deer have very poor depth perception," Cambell said. "They don't like to jump into things they can't get back out of." 

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.