Create a Tick-Free Yard
Did you know you can make your property less appealing to ticks through proper landscaping techniques? Here are some landscaping tips to help keep your yard tick-free:
- Clear tall grasses and brush around homes and at the edge of lawns.
- Place a wood chip or gravel barrier between lawns, wooded areas, and around all patios and play equipment. This will deter ticks from making their way into recreational areas.
- Mow the lawn frequently and keep all leaves raked.
- Stack wood neatly and in a dry area to discourage rodents from taking up residence. Ticks feed on rodents in their nests.
- Keep play equipment, decks, and patios away from yard edges and trees. If possible, place them in direct sunlight.
- Remove any old furniture or trash from the yard.
- Research your plants and trees. Do you have some that are attracting deer to your yard?
Blacklegged ticks (deer ticks) feed on mice in their nests, especially in Spring and Fall. You can buy or make tick tubes to help kill these larva. Tick tubes are cardboard/biodegradable tubes with permethrin-treated cotton. When rodents take the cotton to build their nests, the ticks are exposed to permethrin and die. All the while, the mice, other mammals, and your lands are unharmed and undisturbed.
- Buy tick tubes.
- Build your own tick tubes.
- Refer to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s Tick Management Handbook for a comprehensive guide to preventing ticks and their bites through landscaping.
- Learn about Bait Boxes.
Check out this video from TickEncounter/URI on the effectiveness of Professional Perimeter Spraying and Protecting Your Yard.