Ticks, Fleas & Biting Bugs

This category is the one with real health stakes. Connecticut gave Lyme disease its name, and Cape Cod's tick numbers are among the worst anywhere — blacklegged (deer) ticks carry Lyme, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis, and it's the poppy-seed-sized spring nymphs, not the adults, that cause most infections because they feed unnoticed. Fleas ride in on pets and wildlife and then outlast the on-animal treatment by cycling through egg and larval stages in carpet and soil. Mosquitoes round out the trio, breeding in any water that stands five days — a bottle cap will do.

Worth knowing

• Tick larvae acquire Lyme bacteria from mice, not deer — rodent control and tick control are the same public-health fight.
• 95% of a flea infestation is eggs, larvae, and pupae in the environment — treating only the pet leaves the population intact.
• Ticks quest at yard edges — woodlines, stone walls, tall grass — not in open mowed lawn, which is why targeted barrier treatment works.