Area to
Treat Insecticide Comments
Yards 2% carbaryl Read and follow label
 (Sevin) spray directions.
 0.5% diazinon
 spray
 5% malathion
 dust
 2% malathion
 spray
 1% Baygon
 spray

 In addition to the above procedures, indoor
misters and total release aerosols containing di-
chlorvos or pyrethrins may be used in conjunction
with residual spray to quickly reduce adult popu-
lation. Be sure to follow the label directions.
 Certain people are more susceptible to fleas than
others. Sensitive people may wish to apply an in-
sect repellent containing DEET diethyll tolua-
mide) for protection in highly infested areas.
 TICKS
 Several species of ticks attack dogs, but cats are
rarely infested. Many of the dog ticks are known
as wood ticks and infest dogs when they run
through the woods or fields. Ticks can also annoy
people but humans are not the preferred host.
 Ticks are mites, not insects, and are closely re-
lated to the spiders. Adult ticks have eight legs.
All ticks are parasitic, feeding on the blood of
animals.
 Of the ticks found in Florida, the brown dog
tick and the American dog tick are the most
troublesome. The brown dog tick rarely bites hu-
mans, but infestations are frequently found on
dogs and in the home. The American dog tick at-
tacks a wide variety of hosts, including humans.


American Dog Tick
(Actual size 1/3" long)


 Brown Dog Tick
(Actual size 1/3" long)


 Biology
 The brown dog tick seldom attacks animals
 other than dogs. It is most likely found where
 dogs are kept in or around the house. The brown
 dog tick is not known to transmit diseases to hu-
 mans but may transmit disease among dogs.
 The adult female tick lays a mass of 1,000-3,000
 eggs after engorging on a dog's blood. These eggs
 are often found in cracks on the roof of kennels
 or high on the walls or ceilings of buildings. In the
 house eggs are laid around baseboards, window
 and door casings, curtains, furniture and edges of
 rugs. The egg laying females are often seen going
 up walls to lay eggs.
 The eggs hatch in 19 to 60 days into a six-
 legged, small seed tick. The seed tick takes a blood
 meal from dogs when they are available. The lar-
 vae are so small they won't be noticed on the dog
 unless a number are together. The seed tick re-
 mains attached for 3-6 days, turns bluish in color,
 and then drops to the floor. After dropping from
 the host, the seed tick hides for 6 to 23 days be-
 fore molting into an eight-legged, reddish-brown
 nymph. It is now ready for another blood meal
 and again seeks a dog host. The nymphs attach to
 dogs, drop off, and molt to the adult in 12 to 29
 days. As a reddish-brown adult, it again seeks a
 blood meal, becomes engorged and is bluish in
 color, reaching about 1/3 inch in length.
 Unengorged larvae, nymphs and adults may live
 for long periods of time without a blood meal.
 Adults have been known to live for as long as
 200 days without a blood meal. Indoors, ticks
 hiding between blood meals may be found behind
 baseboards, window casings, window curtains,
 bookcases, inside upholstered furniture and under
 edges of rugs. Outdoors, ticks hide near founda-
 tions of buildings, in crevices of siding or beneath
 the porch.
 The American dog tick is also a common pest
 of pets and humans in Florida. The adult males
 and females are frequently encountered by sports-
 men and people who work outdoors. Dogs are the
 preferred host, although the American dog tick
 will feed on other warm-blooded animals. The
 nymphal stages of the American dog tick usually
only attack rodents. For this reason the American
dog tick is not considered a household pest.
 The female dog tick lays 4,000 to 6,500 eggs
and then dies. The eggs hatch into seed ticks in