Earlier this month, we discussed and addressed some common concerns and questions in regard to where ticks live, how long they live, tick prevention methods, if they fly, tick protection etc. In this article, we briefly touched on things you can be doing in your yard to help decrease the tick population. But, we wanted to dig a little deeper into this specific topic of tick removal and keeping ticks out of your yard.
Be aware that when it comes to tick removal and discussing how to keep the tick population down in your yard, it will require several things working in conjunction with one another.
- Keep a clean and well-maintained yard – Ticks love brush piles, wood piles, and high grass. Neglecting to maintain and clean up your yard may result in a higher population of ticks than necessary. Additionally, the carriers of ticks also love these hiding/nestling places, essentially creating an extremely desirable home for ticks and their carriers on your property.
- Mow your grass – As mentioned above, ticks love high grass, so mowing regularly is extremely important. Longer grass produces a shaded area at the base of the blades creating a comfortable home for these ticks out of the sun, and out of clear view. It is generally suggested that you keep your lawn around 2-3 inches high.
- Try to limit the population of wildlife – Stray cats, rabbits, mice, squirrels, deer, etc. are prime carriers of the ticks that could lead to harmful bites and tick-borne diseases. One way to help eliminate entrance of outside intruders, is by installing a fence around your yard. While this won’t keep all wildlife out, it will help to serve as a barrier of entry, particularly to those animals that remain on the ground/low to the ground (these grounded animals are prime targets for ticks, since ticks can’t fly). Keeping your yard clean and free of garbage and ideal hideouts (as mentioned in number one) is also a good way to avoid attracting animals.
- Spray your yard especially around the perimeter – Your pest management specialist will typically spray for ticks around the perimeter of your property. Prior to spraying, they will run tests and evaluate your yard to determine the intensity of the tick population within. Applying an organic insecticide, can reduce the population greatly. At Red Cedar, we make sure to use insecticide products that are organic and safe for your family and pets. By creating a perimeter, the goal is to keep ticks on the outside of this “imaginary line”, helping to keep ticks from entering.
- Plant natural repellents – We’ve discussed in detail some plants that are natural mosquito repellents in our blog, 6 Mosquito Repellent Plants, but did you know these plants (and others) naturally repel ticks too? Thyme, citronella, germaniums, and eucalyptus are among these plants. Additionally, there are plants that are natural deer repellents. Keeping deer away helps to keep the dangerous deer ticks that attach to them away as well.
Choosing to do any of these five things can help to decrease the population and remove ticks from your yard, but, ideally, all of them in conjunction with each other make for a really solid protection plan. Red Cedar can assist in spraying your yard for ticks using effective and safe products, plan your landscape with natural repellents in mind, and help you to maintain your yard and grass! The tick population and tick-borne diseases spread by their bites are at an all-time high in The Hudson Valley. While it is difficult to control and protect your family and pets from ticks in public areas, you can certainly control how protected they are in your own yard. Let our professionals at Red Cedar help to protect your family from harmful pests now, and in the future. Contact us today for your free consultation!