How To Control Ticks

Female paralysis tick before feeding
Paralysis tick

Most people don’t pay much attention to tick control. That tends to change when they find a tick on themselves after a bush walk or on their pet. 100% tick control cannot be guaranteed, but with some good tick prevention tips and use of suitable tick control products, the chances of picking up a tick on your property can be significantly reduced.

Tick Identification

Female paralysis tick before feeding
Female paralysis tick (before feeding)
Female paralysis tick engorged (after feeding)
Female paralysis tick engorged (after feeding)

What do they look like?

There are a number of different tick species across Australia and they all have the same general appearance. Ticks are not insects and are actually members of the arachnids – so are more closely related to spiders than insects. As such, the adults have eight legs, although interestingly the larval stage has 6 legs.

  • Eggs: The female lays up to several thousand eggs in leaf litter or attached to the bark or foliage of various plants. They are laid in batches of up to 200 per day.
  • Larvae: When the nymph hatches from the egg, it only has 6 legs. It develops the extra pair of legs after a blood meal, when it moults into the nymphal stage. The larvae are about 0.5mm in size and also called “grass ticks”.
  • Nymphs: Ticks pass through 2 nymphal stages, getting progressively bigger. They require a blood meal before each time they moult to the next stage. Nymphs are about 1.2 mm in size.
  • Adults: Adult female ticks can be up to 4 mm long before feeding (males a little smaller). Female ticks seek out a blood meal, which is required before egg laying can commence. After feeding the female is significantly engorged and can be up to 1 cm long.

Back to Tick Menu

Key Tick Facts

Tick questing to find a host
A tick, “questing” to find a host
  • Ticks species are found throughout Australia, but the paralysis tick is only found on the humid east coast in a strip spreading 20 km inland. Paralysis ticks are restricted to this humid climate as the eggs struggle to survive dry periods.
  • All life-stages require a blood meal, although it does not have to be human. Ticks will latch onto any large animal walking by.
  • Ticks find suitable hosts be “questing”. They hold onto grass or small shrubs with the rear legs and wave the front pair of legs in the air. These legs have special organs which can detect odours, breathing, moisture and vibrations. When a suitable host brushes by they grab on with their front legs. (Ticks don’t jump or fall out of trees!).
  • Adult females require a blood meal to lay eggs. After laying eggs the female will die.
  • Adult males don’t often bite their host. They jump on the host primarily to find a female to mate with. If the male wants a feed, he will often bite the female to take some of her blood meal!

Back to Tick Menu

Signs Of A Tick Infestation

Bandicoot often have ticks
Native animals, such as bandicoots,
bring ticks into backyards

The only sign of an infestation is the presence of ticks on you or your pets. Perhaps the early sign you may have a problem developing on your property, is if you are noticing “grass ticks” in Autumn and Winter, as this will mean you are likely to have a large number of adult ticks come Spring.

Main Pest Season

Tick season has various peaks corresponding to the life-cycle. For the paralysis tick, the tick larvae (“grass ticks”) are common in Autumn and Winter, whereas the adults are more common in Spring and Summer. All life stages need a blood meal, so it does mean you need to be on alert for ticks, year round.

Back to Tick Menu

Tick Prevention Tips

Tick removal from dog
Paralysis ticks can be life-threatening to dogs
  • Keep grass short and cut back vegetation in areas used by humans and pets.
  • Carry out a tick treatment to your lawn and garden areas.
If you are walking in long grass in “the bush” wear long trousers tucked in and use insect repellents.
Keep your pet tick treatments up to date.

For more details on keeping tick numbers down in your yard check out our blog article on how to keep ticks out of your yard.

Back to Tick Menu

Tick Control Tips

PestXpert Tick and Flea Control Spray

Around the backyard, vegetation management can be very helpful in keeping the tick numbers down. Cutting back vegetation and keeping grass short will make the environment less attractive for ticks – more sun and less humidity). Keeping native animals out of your yard can also help, especially if bandicoots are in your areas – good fencing, going below ground level, is required.

Target insecticide applications are an options as well, with the best control strategy being to apply insecticides in late summer / autumn when the larvae and nymphs are present, as these are easier to kill. They also reside in the leaf litter so it means you need to get the insecticide down to soil level. However, regular lawn treatments for ticks is the best way to ensure your yard is kept tick free.

Back to Tick Menu

PestXpert Products For Ticks

  • Application of a regular tick treatment (such as PestXpert Pro Hose-On) to your lawn and garden will eliminate any ticks present, greatly reducing the chances of a tick bite. Pro-Hose On allows accurate application of the correct dose over a large area.

Back to Tick Menu

FAQs About Ticks

Tick removal from cats should be carried out by a veterinarian to avoid injecting any more toxin. It will also allow them to identify the tick, so if it’s a paralysis tick, an appropriate treatment regime can be commenced.

Consult your vet about appropriate tick prevention treatments to avoid your cat getting bitten by ticks.

Tick removal on dogs should be carried out by a veterinarian to avoid injecting any more toxin. It will also allow them to identify the tick, so if it’s a paralysis tick, an appropriate treatment regime can be commenced.

Consult your vet about appropriate tick prevention treatments to avoid your dog getting bitten by ticks.

Yes, humans can also get sick from a paralysis tick bite. Although it generally has to be attached for several days to inject enough toxic to get seriously ill.

Do not try and pull the tick out with your fingers or use tweezers! This will likely squeeze more toxins and the tick’s gut content into the bite area.

The medical guidance is to kill the tick in place (generally by freezing) and then let it drop off. Manual removal should only be carried out by a medical professional.

“Freeze it, don’t squeeze”.

More information on tick removal, including a video on managing tick bites.

Back to Tick Menu

PestXpert Blog

For the dedicated PestXperts…

The PestXpert Blog gets updated regularly with articles on pests, products and tricks of the trade.
Take your pest control knowledge to the next level and say goodbye to pest problems.

  • Tick removal from dog
    How to keep ticks out of your yard

    How to keep ticks out of your yard and create a tick-free outdoor area for your family to enjoy.

  • paralysis tick in grass
    Treatments for grass ticks and fleas in lawns

    Flea and ticks hide in your backyard – in the lawn and under the house. Learn how to get on top of flea and tick infestations and protect your family and pets, with a DIY tick and flea treatment for…

  • paralysis tick
    Paralysis ticks in Australia – All you need to know

    The mention of paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) can strike fear into the hearts of pet owners. The fear is justified… for a dog or cat, a bite from paralysis tick can lead to death in a very short time. Here’s…