Ticks are arachnids that carry a host of diseases. Most people think that these pests are only found in wooden areas, but they can also live in your own yard too, especially if yours is damp, shady, and has a lot of leaf litter! Ticks need to bite skin and feed on blood in order to successfully complete their life cycles. There are around 800 species of ticks that are in existence around the world, and currently, there are two tick families that are capable of transmitting diseases to humans: the Ixodidae and Argasidae. The fully-grown female adult is the one that bites as its male counterparts die after mating.

Dangers of Tick Bites

Back in the day, having a tick bite was only a matter of inconvenience and discomfort. Now, a tick bite can make you really sick. What makes ticks dangerous is that it can transfer certain pathogens. The diseases that can occur after a tick bite are numerous—depending on the kind of tick that bit you. Some of the tick-borne diseases are Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Tularemia, and Ehrlichiosis. Lyme disease is caused by a deer tick while Rocky Mountain spotted fever is caused by the Rickettsia rickettsia pathogen carried by the Dermacentor ticks.

How to Check for Ticks

If you have spent long hours in places that have a reputation for tick infestation, the first thing you need to do is to check your clothes and the gear you brought along for ticks. Take a long bath and check for ticks on all nooks and crannies of your body, especially the warm areas such as your toes, ankles, behind the knees, inside the elbows, under your armpits, and behind the ears. Put your clothes in a dryer and tumble on high heat for at least an hour. Watch out for these symptoms as well, which could happen during the first couple of weeks after a tick bite:

• rashes
• headache
• nausea
• weakness
• muscle pain
• fever

How to Remove a Tick 

In order to properly remove a tick, you will need to grab a pair of fine tweezers. If you don’t have any in the house, use gloves—just don’t do it with bare hands. Grip the tick close to the skin and then pull back gently with firm and steady hands. Do not jerk back, twist, or squeeze while holding the tick, since the bodily fluids that will come out may contain dangerous pathogens. Wash your skin and hands thoroughly using warm water and anti-bacterial soap. Put the tick in a clean, dry airtight container or a ziplock bag and inquire at your local health department for tick testing services.

Care After Tick Removal

Take note of the appearance and size of the tick, and of how long it was attached to the skin, just in case a doctor will need this information. If irritation follows after a tick removal, apply a topical antibiotic ointment and cover with a bandage. Continue to monitor your skin for two to three days after exposure.

How to Prevent Ticks

Be wary during the hot warmer months, because these are the times when ticks are mainly active. Ticks could be lying in wait while on a piece of a log or in twigs. They could also be on tall pieces of grass. Avoid prolonged contact with wood while hiking, and stick to the middle of the trail. Make sure to wear pants. Also, wear a long-sleeved shirt and tuck it into your pants. Better also to tuck the hem of your pants into your socks to prevent any skin from being exposed to the air. Don’t forget to bring a bottle of insect repellent that contains DEET. If your insect repellent contains only 20% of DEET, it can still be safely used on the skin.

You can prevent ticks in your immediate surroundings by making sure that the grass in your yard is mowed and cut short regularly. Clean up all the leaf litter and prune low-lying shrubs to let the sun shine in.

Doing these things should prevent ticks from making a home out of your yard. But if they are already there and you are having a hard time coping with the tick infestation, you will need to seek professional help.

Many people enjoy gardening and maintaining flower beds. The flowers add color to your home and yard, and the outdoor activity is invigorating to many. However, most people are not pleased when they look into their garden area or flower beds and see it swarming with bees.

While bees are nature’s way of pollinating plants, excessive amounts of bees in any area that is not a specific hive can be dangerous. A swarm of bees can harm someone even if they are not allergic to the stings, and for those who are allergic, one simple sting can be deadly.

To even out the balance between necessary pollination and keeping your flower beds and gardens nearly bee free, gardeners need to be creative with their planting.

CHOOSE PLANTS WISELY – SOME ARE MORE ATTRACTIVE TO BEES

Wildflower gardens have become very popular. These gardens are meant to be beautiful and attract butterflies. Many people love to spread them out over large areas as a way to add beauty to an area that otherwise has a hard time growing other flowers. These wonderful plants do everything they claim to do. They will grow quickly, add lots of color to your yard, and attract butterflies. They will also attract bees.

Bees love wildflowers because most of them have a lot of nectar. Bees can return often to the same flowers to get their fill and return to their hive with food. Bees also love large areas of the same type of flower. It makes them feel “comfortable” in a large patch of the same type of plants. This s why you will see many bees in fields , groves and orchards.

Another bee attractant is shallow water sources. Not many people realize that when they place a bird bath in their flower garden, they are also creating a place for bees to stop for a drink.

Bees are also attracted to vegetable flowers or that of fruit and berries. If you are going to grow these types of plants, it is best to spread them out some to make it less convenient for too many bees to gather. However, you do not want to get rid of all the bees around these plants because they will not produce fruit or berries without being pollinated.

ARE THERE PLANTS THAT ARE LESS LIKELY TO ATTRACT BEES?

Bees are attracted to all plants. Nectar in the flowers is what provides them food and helps with pollination. All plants need bees to perform this service.

However, planting methods and choosing flowers that do not have strong odors will help you cut down on the amount of bees that enter into your yard. It is also very important that you mix your flower beds and vegetable gardens up so that bees do not develop a comfort zone.

To keep bees from being attracted to your garden area you should also keep weeds under control. Clover, milk weed, dandelion, and goldenrod grow wild everywhere, and bees love their nectar.

If bees are taking over your yard and you cannot control them by changing your plants and planting methods, you should seek professional bee removal. Bee removal can be very dangerous and should only be attempted by someone with experience.