This is a female blacklegged tick I found on a new property that hasn’t been treated yet. Spring time is tick feeding time. Be careful out there, ticks can be up your pant legs quickly without you noticing.

Here are some proactive things you can do to protect your family.

•  Keep grass mowed.
•  Remove leaf litter, brush and weeds at the edge of the lawn.
•  Restrict the use of groundcover, such as pachysandra in areas frequented by family and roaming pets.
•  Remove brush and leaves around stonewalls and wood piles.
•  Discourage rodent activity. Cleanup and seal stonewalls and small openings around the home.
•  Move  fi rewood piles and bird feeders away from the house (see section on small mammals and birds).
•  Manage pet activity, keep dogs and cats out of the woods to reduce ticks brought back into the home.
•  Use plantings that do not attract deer or exclude deer through various types of fencing.
•  Move children’s swing sets and sand boxes away from the woodland edge and place them on a wood chip or mulch type foundation.
•  Trim tree branches and shrubs around the lawn edge to let in more sunlight.
•  Adopt hardscape and xeriscape landscaping techniques with gravel pathways and mulches. Create a 3-foot or wider wood chip, mulch, or gravel border between lawn and woods or stonewalls.
•  Consider areas with decking, tile, gravel and border or container plantings in areas by the house or frequently traveled.
•  Widen woodland trails.
•  Consider a least-toxic pesticide application as a targeted barrier treatment.