Fleas and Ticks

• WHAT YOU SEE

A tick found on the dog after a walk along the fence line or a wooded edge of the yard, or more scratching than usual that turns out to be fleas once you look closely. Fleas are harder to spot directly; it's usually the itching, or small dark specks in the dog's fur, that gives it away first. Ticks are easier to catch in the act, usually on a pet rather than a person, and usually after time in tall grass.

• WHAT WE SEE

Ticks don't jump or fly; they wait on tall grass at the edge of the lawn, at the fence line or the border with woods, and grab on to anything that brushes past. A strip of short grass, mulch, or gravel between the lawn and any wooded or overgrown edge is one of the simplest things that cuts down where they can wait. Fleas usually come in on a pet that picked them up somewhere else, then establish in the yard wherever that pet spends the most time, often a shaded, protected spot near the house. Both are yard problems first, even though the bite happens on a person or a pet.

• HOW WE FIX IT

Yard treatment targets the specific spots ticks wait and fleas establish, tall grass at the fence line, shaded resting areas, rather than a blanket spray across the whole lawn. Products used are pet-safe, since the whole point is protecting the animals as much as the people. We'll flag a fence line or overgrown edge that's a repeat source and suggest clearing it, since that does more long term than any single treatment. This is typically handled as a seasonal add-on to the standard quarterly plan rather than a year-round service.

• WHEN THEY SHOW UP

Late spring through the first frost is tick and flea season in the Midwest, tracking closely with when grass and brush are actively growing. Ticks are most active in the warmer months but can survive a mild fall well into what most people think of as tick off-season. Fleas follow whatever pet brought them in, so they can persist indoors longer than the outdoor season would suggest if the yard problem isn't addressed. The yard is where both start.

• WHAT THE PROS KNOW

Ticks wait on tall grass at the edge of the lawn. A strip of mulch or gravel between lawn and woods is the cheapest tick control there is.