How do you kill ticks?

If you find a tick on yourself or your pet, when you pull it out, there are a few ways to kill them. You can put the tick between two pieces of scotch tape. Seal the tick between the tape, carefully pressing all edges down to trap the tick. Then dispose in the trash. You can also kill it with rubbing alcohol.

Killing ticks in your yard and in your home is another matter. You can’t just stomp on them. Their hard, external skeleton makes killing them a little more difficult. There are some natural strategies you can use. Here are a few ideas:

• Sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the perimeter of your yard or throughout your grass. This “earth” is really ground up diatoms and their razor sharp edges cut through the exoskeletons of ticks, fatally injuring them.
• Spraying garlic or cedar oil around your yard is two fold because not only do ticks find these smells distasteful, so do the deer that drop ticks in your yard.
• Heat is also an effective killer for ticks. Ticks like the shade so if you minimize shady areas in your yard, ticks will be less prevalent. Your household dryer also can kill off any ticks on your clothing.

Tick pesticides are your best bet for yard. Professional tick control utilizes many natural and pesticidal treatments that cause ticks to retreat or die off in your yard. Some sprays you can buy as do-it-yourself options can help but only target adult ticks and not the eggs, larvae or nymphs. Professional pest control is your best all around approach to kill all stages of a tick’s life cycle.