When you spend time outside, there’s always the chance that a bug will join you. Ticks require blood meals, and unfortunately humans can be the perfect host. Thankfully, there are a few ways to deter them from hanging around. We’ve compiled a list of things you can do to prevent ticks from invading your yard.
Clean Up
Ticks need food sources and shelter to survive. If your yard has these things, they will find it extremely inviting. To make them feel unwelcome, you’ll want to keep your yard clean. Remove trash from the yard that could attract other animals, like rodents, that act as a host for ticks. Make sure your yard is free of any leaf litter. This debris provides ticks, especially blacklegged ticks, with the perfect hiding spot. It shields them from the sun and any potential threats.
Maintain Lawn
Ticks prefer areas that are wooded or have plenty of vegetation. When grass isn’t kept short, ticks are attracted to it. It also makes it easier for them to hop onto you. Make sure you frequently mow your lawn. If you have any tall brush in your yard, you’ll want to remove this too. Ticks prefer living in shaded areas. If you can expose more of your yard to sunlight, it can help keep ticks away.
Add Barriers
Ticks love the space in between wooded areas and lawns. It has plenty of shade, moisture, and vegetation. If your yard contains trees or is surrounded by a wooded area, creating a barrier can help deter ticks from entering. You can create a border with gravel, wood chips, or stones around these areas. This will make it harder for ticks to travel into your yard. These barriers can also be placed around your garden, patio, and the perimeter of your yard.
Properly Store Woodpiles
Many people keep woodpiles in their yard, but these are an open invitation to ticks. They provide them with an ideal hiding spot because they are typically shaded and contain moisture. One of the best things you can do is keep your woodpiles stacked in a sunny part of your yard. This will keep the wood dry, which will make it less appealing to ticks. Make sure the woodpiles aren’t close to your home.
Add Fencing
Many warm-blooded animals can become a host for a tick. When ticks choose a host, they latch onto their fur or skin in order to feed on them. When animal hosts, like deer and raccoons, enter your yard, they bring the ticks with them. This increases your chance of coming in contact with ticks. Placing a fence around your yard will prevent animals from gaining access. This can help reduce the number of ticks that are in your yard.
Add Tick-Repelling Plants
If you have a green thumb or are looking for a new hobby, gardening could be your next tick solution. Some plants have fragrances that naturally repel insects. If you’re hoping to keep ticks away, there are several that are known to repel ticks. Try planting garlic, rosemary, marigolds, chrysanthemums, or lemongrass. Not only will they repel ticks, they will also look great in your yard.
Use a Plant-Based Insecticide Spray
You don’t have to wait for a tick problem to treat your yard. Using a pest control product as a preventative measure can help ensure that your yard isn’t overrun by pests. Our Mosquito & Tick Killer not only kills ticks, it repels them too. It’s formulated with plant essential oils, like lemongrass oil, which means that it’s an effective and more family and environmentally friendly solution when used as directed.
Bugs are a part of our world, but that doesn’t mean you have to invite them into your home and yard. Ticks can be problematic, but implementing a few precautionary measures can help keep you and your home safe. If ticks or other pests are giving you a fit, we want to help. Check out our Maggie’s Farm Simply Effective™ Pest Control products.