Mosquito and Tick Control in Clarksville, TN

Clarksville's mosquito season is long and its tick season starts early, and both carry real disease risk in Tennessee. Most of the control that works is cheap and happens in your own yard.

Mosquito season in Clarksville

Mosquitoes are most active on warm nights. Our NOAA record for Clarksville Outlaw Field shows an average of 82 nights a year that stay at 65F or warmer, almost all of them June to August. Rain falls in every month, about 48.7 inches a year, so containers refill all season.

Warm nights per month, low of 65°F or warmer (peak mosquito nights)

The median first fall freeze here is October 31, so the season does not really end until then. You can see the full record on our Clarksville pest data page.

The Asian tiger mosquito

If you are getting bitten on the ankles in the afternoon, you are probably dealing with the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). The Tennessee Department of Health lists it among the disease-carrying species in the state, and as a carrier of La Crosse virus and several tropical viruses. University of Kentucky entomologists say it tends to bite around the ankles, a spot people miss with repellent, and that populations climb through summer to a peak in late July and early August.

It breeds in containers, and small ones count. The CDC says Aedes females lay eggs on the inside walls of water-holding containers just above the waterline. The eggs stick to the walls and can survive drying out for up to 8 months, and an egg can become an adult in about 7 to 10 days. Dumping a bucket is not enough. Scrub the inside or turn it over.

Places to check around a Clarksville yard:

• Buckets and planters, along with flowerpot saucers
• Kids' toys and wading pools
• Bird baths
• Old tires
• Clogged gutters and tarps that hold water
• Uncovered rain barrels
• Tree holes, which the CDC suggests filling

The CDC's rule: once a week, empty and scrub anything that holds water. If you cannot do that, cover it or throw it out.

West Nile virus in Tennessee

The Tennessee Department of Health calls West Nile the most common mosquito-borne virus in the United States, and its records show positive mosquito samples in Tennessee every year since 2002. TDH says most infected people have no symptoms. About 1 in 5 get a fever with headache or body aches, and about 1 in 150 develop severe illness affecting the brain or spinal cord. People over 50 are at highest risk of severe disease. Tennessee cases peak in August and September.

West Nile is spread mainly by Culex house mosquitoes, which TDH lists separately from the tiger mosquito. They breed in standing water too, so the same weekly routine helps with both. TDH says its 2023 mosquito trapping was done in Davidson and Shelby counties plus Knox, so a lack of local reports in Montgomery County does not mean the virus is absent here.

If you have cleared the obvious water and still get bitten, a technician can walk the property and find the sources you missed.

Ticks in Montgomery County

TDH says six key tick species live in Tennessee, and that many people pick up ticks in their own yard. It says ticks here live in wooded and brushy areas. They also live in yards with tall grass or leaf litter next to brush. The two that matter most around Clarksville:

• The lone star tick, which TDH calls aggressive. Adult females have a white dot on the back. It spreads ehrlichiosis and is linked to alpha-gal syndrome.
• The American dog tick, also called the wood tick, which spreads Rocky Mountain spotted fever. TDH says risk is highest in spring and summer.

Ehrlichiosis and spotted fever

Ehrlichiosis, spread by the lone star tick, was the most reported tick-borne disease in Tennessee in 2023, according to TDH. Reports have risen since 2015, and about 56% of 2023 cases were hospitalized. Symptoms usually start 5 to 14 days after the bite. Fever and a severe headache are common early signs.

Spotted fever rickettsiosis, which includes Rocky Mountain spotted fever, is also common here. TDH says Tennessee is one of five states that together account for more than half of national cases, and that Stewart County, which includes Dover, saw an increase in cases in 2023. TDH notes that untreated spotted fever can progress quickly, and that a provider who suspects it should start antibiotics before test results come back. If you get a fever and headache within a couple of weeks of a tick bite, tell your doctor about the bite.

Alpha-gal syndrome

The CDC describes alpha-gal syndrome as a serious allergy, sometimes life-threatening, to red meat and other mammal products. It can develop after a tick bite. In the United States it is most often linked to the lone star tick. The CDC counted more than 110,000 suspected cases from 2010 to 2022, and says as many as 450,000 people may be affected. The CDC says hunters are at higher risk.

What a yard barrier spray does and does not do

Most mosquito and tick services sell a recurring barrier spray. University of Wisconsin-Madison Extension describes these as pyrethroid insecticides sprayed on vegetation and surfaces, designed to stay on plants for days to weeks. Its August 2026 review makes three points worth knowing:

• The spray kills adults that land on treated plants. It does nothing about where mosquitoes breed, so populations come back.
• Mosquitoes can fly or blow in from more than 10 miles away, which offsets yard treatments.
• Pyrethroids are harmful to many beneficial insects. Some studies found honey bees and monarchs harmed weeks after a barrier treatment.

A December 2025 Xerces Society study of yards in three states found that yards sprayed by private companies had, on average, more than six times the dose lethal to honey bees on their plants. Drift reached many neighboring yards too. The CDC says not to apply adult mosquito sprays to blooming plants or to plants that bees and butterflies visit.

My view: a single treatment before a graduation party or a cookout is reasonable. A monthly contract from May to October is mostly paying for a pyrethroid that wears off, while the saucer behind the shed keeps producing mosquitoes. If you buy one, ask the company:

• Which active ingredient it uses, and what the label says about keeping kids and pets off treated areas. The CDC says to stay off until the product dries, usually about an hour.
• How it avoids spraying flowering plants.
• Whether the visit includes finding and treating standing water. TDH suggests larvicides for water that cannot be drained.
• Whether it is a one-time job or an auto-renewing plan, and how to cancel.

Compare plans with our guides to one-time vs. recurring service and pest control costs.

What you can do this week

From TDH and the CDC:

• Walk the yard every week. Dump and scrub anything holding water, and clean the gutters.
• Keep window and door screens in good repair.
• Use an EPA-registered repellent. TDH lists DEET and picaridin among the effective ingredients, along with IR3535 and oil of lemon eucalyptus. Do not use repellent on babies under 2 months. Do not use oil of lemon eucalyptus or PMD on children under 3.
• Treat clothes and gear with 0.5% permethrin, or buy pretreated items.
• For ticks, remove leaf litter and clear tall grass and brush. TDH suggests a strip of gravel or wood chips between the lawn and the woods, and keeping play areas away from the tree line.
• After time outside, put dry clothes in the dryer on high heat for 10 minutes and check yourself and the kids for ticks. TDH also suggests a shower within two hours.
• Pull an attached tick with tweezers close to the skin, straight out. Watch for a rash or fever in the following weeks.

Ask your veterinarian about tick prevention for dogs and cats. If you live near the woods in Dover, Woodlawn or Cunningham, tick work at the yard edge matters more than in a new subdivision lot.

We only refer companies chartered by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (and licensed by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture for Kentucky addresses). If you want a technician to find breeding sites or treat a tick-heavy yard edge, ask for a free inspection and a written price before any treatment.