Think Pure with Pure Solutions

Although many of us in New England are still hitting the slopes, building snowmen, and wearing parkas when we leave the house the reality is spring is around the corner. Others are already "over it" and are contemplating new garden layouts, spring home improvement projects, and planning the first hikes of the season. But is it really time to start worrying about ticks and the diseases they carry?

It’s a common misconception that ticks hibernate or die in the winter. The reality is that they are always there, waiting for the opportunity to feed (and in many cases spread tick-borne illnesses)

All across New England, winter is here. Ski areas are opening, Christmas is just around the corner, and the leaves are off the trees and on your lawn. Hopefully, by now, you have done a comprehensive cleanup around your home, removing all the leaf litter that ticks love. As we put Summer and Fall in the rearview, it’s easy to think that tick season has passed as well. But don’t be fooled, ticks don’t care about seasons, they only care about temperature, and if there is one thing us New Englanders know, it’s that we can hit temperatures well above freezing all throughout winter. 

As fall approaches here in New England we get many inquiries about when ticks will “disappear”? The short answer is never. Depending on where you live and the species of tick you can be bit by a tick year round. 

Many of us must now accept that ticks are part of our lives when enjoying the outdoors. 

By now most people are aware that in May, June, and July ticks are out in force and looking for hosts to feed on. But the reality is that you are at risk of a tick bite almost year-round, depending on your climate. 

It is now only one month until Astronomical Spring; which means Tick Season will soon be upon us. With Spring come certain truths that we can generally rely on occurring in New England.

Happy Thanksgiving! 

As people sit down for Thanksgiving dinner many will say how much they are Thankful for the food on their table.  For most people the center point of the meal will be a plump Turkey that was bought at the local market. These farmed, domesticated Turkeys are vastly different from the Wild Turkeys that people see wandering through their yards.  Surprisingly, those wild turkeys are actually acting as natural pest controllers on a daily basis. 

It’s that time of year again. The leaves are turning; many having already hit the ground, and if you're anything like the rest of us, you've probably put off cleaning up your yard until the last minute. All this procrastination means that leaf litter is left for prolonged periods of time and this can prove to be more detrimental than one might think. Below are a few reasons why fall clean-ups are important to get done....hopefully sooner than later. 

As soon as temperatures rise in the late Winter and early Spring, tick populations reactivate. Although some species of ticks are dormant during the cold winter months, they become active earlier than you may think. When temperatures rise above freezing and the snow cover begins to melts, ticks begin to emerge and look for hosts.