Using a general spray product that is registered for ticks gives pest managers a unique upselling option, especially in coastal areas where tick pressure is high.
A whole range of products on the market are classed as ‘broad spectrum’, often with generic claims such as ‘kills crawling insects’. However, this doesn’t mean they have been tested on all crawling insects. Suspend Flexx Insecticide, on the other hand, has been tested and proven to work for all pests listed on its label. This includes the infamous paralysis tick.
Ticks may be an occasional pest, but for pet owners along the eastern seaboard, the paralysis tick is one pest that is sure to cause concern. Whilst pets should have regular flea and tick medication to provide protection, pet owners don’t always keep treatments up to date and of course pet treatments don’t protect humans when out and about in the yard. With the increased rainfall over the last year, which provides ideal conditions for ticks, could there be an upselling opportunity for yard tick treatments?
The paralysis tick, Ixodes holocyclus, is found up and down the eastern seaboard, predominantly within 50 kilometres of the coastline. Whilst many people assume ticks are only found in the bush or in the yards of homes backing onto the bush, ticks can find their way into any backyard on native animals. All tick stages, especially the immature ticks, live predominantly in the leaf litter. They may climb onto blades of grass and low plants when ‘questing’ – waving their legs looking for a host.
The fact that they live at ground level makes them susceptible to area spray treatments of the lawn and garden areas. Tick treatments are best viewed as curative treatments to kill any ticks present at the time of application. (The insecticide will be washed into the soil after rain, so the residual performance is limited.) As such, in high-risk tick areas, regular treatments are recommended to keep tick numbers down. If pets are present, the owners should also make sure their veterinary tick treatment is up to date.
With Suspend Flexx being a broad spectrum product with a specific tick claim, rather than a a specialist tick-only product, pest managers can carry out a tick treatment with the same product they use for indoor and outdoor general pest treatments, making tick treatments a convenient and easy add-on to other pest services. If the tick in question is a brown dog tick, which can be found indoors as well as outdoors, both Suspend Flexx and Temprid75 Residual Insecticide are treatment options.
The Suspend Flexx and Temprid75 labels have recently been updated. Not only do they provide information on mixing and application rates, as well as critical comments, they have been expanded to provide useful treatment and application tips for all the pests on the label. This provides pest managers with helpful information to ensure their treatments deliver optimal performance for their customers.
Although ticks can be present all year round, the tick season really kicks off in August and runs through to March and April. They thrive in humid environments, so the ongoing wet conditions mean tick numbers are set to explode in spring. Now might be the time to start promoting tick treatments as a specialist treatment or service add-on. With Suspend Flexx you have the product that ticks all the boxes.
Back to pest control ticks and more information on ticks.
