There are measures you can take to reduce the risk of Lyme Disease and other tick borne diseases on your property. The Maxforce Tick Management System was developed between scientists from the CDC and Bayer Environmental Science. The Maxforce System has been proven effective in significantly reducing the number of ticks present in yards and landscapes.

The Maxforce Tick Management System is a low maintenance, highly effective means of ridding your yard of ticks and reducing your chances of contracting Lyme Disease. The Maxforce Tick Management System interrupts the Lyme cycle without harming wildlife, damaging the environment, and it is a great alternative to people with high sensitivities to pesticides.

In field trials, by using the Maxforce Tick Management System, the total number of ticks and the Lyme's Disease infection rate reduced by 80% in the first year and was reduced by 97% by the end of the second year of treatment.

How Maxforce Works

When people think of Lyme's Disease, they automatically think of deer and deer ticks. While deer do play an active role in the spread of Lyme's Disease, the white footed mouse is the most important culprit in the spread of Lyme's Disease. The white footed mouse harbors the bacteria and ticks pick up the bacteria when they feed on the blood of the infected mice. Ticks will then feed on humans, pets, and other animals spreading Lyme's Disease and other infectious diseases.

To reduce mouse populations in yards and landscaping, it is essential that firewood and bird feeders are kept away from the house. Removal of leaf litter, trimming trees and bushes to allow sunlight to enter shady areas, and keeping the grass trimmed short are beneficial in making the area less attractive to mice and deer. However, these measures are not going to rid your property of mice, and a single mouse can carry more than 100 deer ticks.

The Maxforce Tick Management System is a small plastic box that holds an insecticide that's effective against ticks and a bait that's attractive to mice. The amount of boxes needed will depend on the size of the yard or area to be treated.

The bait will attract mice living on and around the property to the system boxes. As the mouse moves through the box, it will pass under a small applicator wick containing a low-dose insecticide. The wick will lightly brush the mouse's head or shoulders, applying traces of the insecticide.

The insecticide won't harm the mice or any other animal that might touch them or eat them, but it will kill the ticks that the mice are carrying. A single dose will protect the mice for up to 40 days against any new ticks. As they return to the system they will receive additional protection. The Maxforce System is effective for approximately 90 days, with 2 consectutive 90-day installations, ensuring the system will take care of ticks for a full season.

Ticks do not travel more than a few feet on their own, so by treating the rodents that have developed territories around your property, you can have a dramatic effect on the number of ticks that invade your property.

Active Ingredient in the Maxforce System

Maxforce uses one of the worlds best insecticides-fipronil. Fipronil is commonly used to prevent flea and tick infestations on household pets. Fipronil has been tested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as the best method of reducing tick populations in mice. It has been found to be a highly effective means of killing ticks while protecting the environment and any other animal it contacts. Fipronil has a long residual and just a trace amount applied on a mouse will kill ticks for many days.

Call Brown's IPM for more information on how the Maxforce System can help you.

Questions and Answers about the Maxforce System

What if my cat eats mice that have been in contact with the system?
It takes very little insecticide to control ticks on a small rodent, and the insecticide used in the Maxforce Tick Management System is an extremely low-dose insecticide. Studies showed that a cat would have to eat several hundred thousand mice in a day's time to suffer any ill effects.

Why not kill the rodent hosts?
Rodents are territorial, so by killing the chipmunks and mice, you are inviting more rodents and more disease to your property. Eliminating the hosts is not practical. During a study in Dutches County, New York, all rodents were removed from a one-acre plot, but it was an enormous task. And, after the study was concluded, the rodent population fully rebounded within two months.

Could using the system cuase the local mouse population to increase?
No. In more than four years of research and field testing in Colorado, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, there has been no evidence that the system leads to increases in the rodent populations.

What about all the other rodents present, squirrels, etc?
The white-footed mouse is by far the most improtant host for the Lyme Disease bacterium. The eastern chipmunk is a scondary host, and the meadow vole may also be a factor. These animals can be handled by the system. Squirrels are too large, and they don't appear to play a significant role in Lyme Disease risk for humans.

Don't deer carry the disease too?
While deer are not carriers of the disease, they are involved in its spread. They range over very large areas and can deposit in your lawn deer ticks that they picked up elsewhere. Where deer populations are high, so are deer tick numbers and the possibility of tick, deer, and mouse interactions. Deer fencing and localized deer reduction programs will help to reduce the risk of Lyme Disease.

How much does the Maxforce System cost?
The price will vary depending on your property and the number of Maxforce Tick Management System boxes needed. Brown's IPM will need to do an estimate for you; however, consider the serivce as being slightly more expensive than a thorough pesticide application.

Call Brown's IPM today to secure your yard with The Maxforce Tick Management System.