Johnson Group Tick Control Service

Ticks are very common during Spring and Summer in Hong Kong due to the warm temperature and humidity. They usually live in the woods. However, as ticks are bloodthirsty by nature, they often follow humans and their pets home by hiding in their hair, fur, clothes or body parts! Tick will bite human and pets for blood, therefore it will cause allergic reaction, or even spread transmittable diseases. Not only it is a threat to human’s health, it could also cause ‘tick fever’ for our pets which could lead to other severe complications. The potential danger should never be overlooked.

Benefits of Using Our Service

  • Service since 1947 – years of professional pest control experience
  • Use Green Insecticides to Replace Traditional Toxic Chemicals – Natural Insect Repellent, Natural Bed Bug, Flea & Dust Mite Laundry & Spray, Green Pesticide (Borates)
  • Combination of Professional Steamer, Monitors and Sticky Traps as Non-chemical Options

Enquiry and Booking

Professional Tools

Professional Steam Cleaner

Temperatures at tip of the steam cleaner can reach to 104℃ which is more than sufficient to kill bloodsucking tiny insects such as lices and ticks upon contact (the thermal death point for bed bugs is about 40℃). Besides, the use of steam unit is commonly adopted as ‘Green Approach’ to remove pests’ breeding sources.
Johnson Group steam clean mattress
Johnson Group dog on clean mattress

Natural Tick Control Products

SafePRO® Natural Bed Bug, Flea & Dust Mite Laundry & Spray

SafePRO® Natural Bed Bug, Flea & Dust Mite Laundry & Spray

Eliminate pests in the wash cycle

All natural SafePRO® uses scientifically proven active ingredients to eradicate pests in the wash cycle. Wash all fabrics used on, around & in your bed. Also wash drapes, upholstery & clothing. It is the best solution for ridding your home of bed bug, flea & lice infestations.

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Johnson Group SmellGREEN® Natural Insect Repellent

SmellGREEN® Natural Insect Repellent

Repels mosquitoes, fleas, ticks & other blood sucking insects. SmellGREEN® solution is an all-natural, formulation of essential oils like Geraniol and Cedarwood oil. Its gentle lemon scent provides a long-lasting deterrent.

  • 100% essential oil and plant extracts
  • No color staining, no DEET, no toxin, no cancer-inducing substance
  • US EPA FIFRA 25(b) Exemption (Non-insecticide)
  • Geraniol is more effective and safer than DEET and Citronella according to researches by University of Florida
  • Product from Canada
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Characteristics of Ticks

Johnson Group-overview-tick

Common types of tick found in Hong Kong include R. sanguineus and Bovine, which belong to the Ixodes family. They are about 1/8 inch in size, dark brown to black, and somewhat beetle-like in appearance.

Like spiders, ticks are arthropods. They can be divided into two main species, including Lxodidae (hard ticks) and Argasidae (soft ticks). “Soft and hard” refers to whether there is a shield-like hard plate on the back of the tick. Ticks feed on the blood of mammals, reptiles, and birds. They are small and flat before feeding, but body will inflate after feeding.

Ticks are parasites, which often have a preference in the body parts of the host. They generally hide in the parts where the skin is thinner, more moist, and difficult to be scratched, such as the host’s neck, back of the ears, armpits, inner thighs, pubic and groin etc.

Ticks are also vectors of some diseases, which could seriously threaten the health of humans and pets.

Life Cycle

All ticks have four life stages: the egg and three parasitic stages that feed on the blood of vertebrates, two immature stages (larva and nymph), and the adult stage. Brown dog tick female lays from a few hundred to more than 5000 eggs in cracks and crevices. The six-legged larvae hatch after the eggs have incubated for 40-60 days. To moult to the next stage, the larval tick must obtain a blood meal (eight-legged nymphal stages, and an eight-legged adult stage).

Once a suitable host is found, the larvae will blood feed for 4-6 days, drop from the host and moult to the eight-legged nymphal stage. Nymphs require a further blood meal for 4-8 days before moulting to the adult stage. After feeding once more, the adult female hard ticks lay one batch of thousands of eggs and then die.

The time to completion of the entire life cycle may vary from less than a year in tropical regions to over three years in cold climates, where certain stages may enter diapause until hosts are again available. Many hard ticks can go for several months without feeding.

The best way to prevent tick infestation is to stay away from known areas of infection. If you must travel to the rural area, wear a light-colored long-sleeved shirt and trousers with cuffs, cuffs, and necklines fastened to make them easier to see. Apply repellent (such as SmellGreen® Natural Insects Repellent) to exposed areas. Thorough inspection should be done when leaving, and clothes should be washed and dried on high heat as soon as you get home.

Keep Your Environment Clean

Ticks do not like surviving in a dry environment. Therefore, reducing indoor humidity can reduce the growth of ticks, and turning on air conditioners and dehumidifiers in spring and summer can reduce indoor relative humidity. Regular cleaning and vacuuming of premises, thorough washing of bedding and clothing, and proper management of hygiene are all necessary measures to effectively prevent ticks. Other preventive measures include regular high temperature cleaning of bedding/clothing, as well as keeping your home dry.

Regardless of the severity of the tick infection, using a vacuum cleaner to clean the indoor environment is a necessary and effective method, especially if you do not use a vacuum cleaner to clean up the dust and other impurities on the environmental floor or carpet before the pesticide application, the control effect will be greatly affected.

The most important function of the vacuum cleaner is to suck up most of the adult worms as well as various juvenile stages such as eggs and larvae. Immediately after using the vacuum cleaner, pour the dust into a plastic bag, and if necessary, spray with insecticide and seal the bag and discard. Remember to deal with it right away, or the vacuum will be the best place for ticks to grow and develop. Discard unused/ aged carpets or furniture, and move some bulky furniture, including the carpets and floor gaps under sofas and beds, and thoroughly clean with vacuum. Mattress cover must be changed frequently, and the place where cats and dogs sleep and rest must be frequently cleaned and vacuumed.

Problems Associated with Ticks

In addition to feeding on mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, ticks are also carriers of some diseases for humans and other animals. Although ticks are not a common human parasite, they still have the tendency to attack humans. Ixodes suck blood and secrete neurotoxins (sometimes paralyzing or kill the host), which will transmit a variety of diseases, some of which are listed below.

Tick fever

Tick fever is one of the most common and dangerous diseases for dogs. Although most people have heard of bovine tick fever, many dog ​​owners are still unaware of the causes, symptoms, and prevention methods of bovine tick fever. Cats are not susceptible to tick fever, but flea and tick bites can trigger similar symptoms. Owners must beware of pets coming into contact with fleas and bovine ticks.

Tick fever is caused by a bacteria-like protist in the bovine tick. When a bovine tick bites a dog and attaches itself to suck blood, the microbe of tick fever will be injected into the dog’s body. The bovine tick is small and flat before sucking blood, but after sucking blood, it will swell up like a large dried raisin. If you find an enlarged bovine tick on your dog, your dog may be infected with tick fever.

Unfortunately, there is currently no vaccine to prevent bovine tick fever, so it is important to stay vigilant to avoid bovine tick fever in dogs.

Lyme disease is a infectious disease that affects animals and humans, transmitted by the bite of a tick infected by Borrelia burgdorferi. It mostly occurs in mammals, including humans, dogs, cats, cattle and horses. Clinical symptoms include abnormal symptoms in the skin tissue, circulatory system, nervous system and musculoskeletal system. The initial symptoms of infection are similar to that of flu, with headache, fever, general fatigue, chills, erythema migrans 3 to 30 days after being bitten by a tick, and there is a chance of other neurological and cardiac problems.

SFTS is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by a newly discovered “New Bunyavirus”. Studies have shown that ticks are the main transmission vectors. Most of patients will have fever and platelets in the first week. Other symptoms include as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, muscle pain, lymphadenopathy, and complications could lead to severe organ failure.