Ticks are small parasitic organisms that feed on the blood of mammals, birds, and reptiles. They can transmit dangerous diseases like Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and others to humans and pets. Having ticks in your yard is a major concern, but there are ways to get rid of them and keep them away.
Understanding Ticks and Tick Habitats
To get rid of ticks, you first need to understand what they are, why they are dangerous, and where they like to live in your yard.
Ticks go through four life stages – egg, larva, nymph, and adult. Larvae and nymphs are tiny, often no bigger than a poppy seed, making them easy to miss. Adult ticks are larger, around the size of a sesame seed.
Only female adult ticks feed on blood, which they need to produce eggs. When an infected tick bites an animal or human, it can transfer disease-causing pathogens through its saliva. Diseases ticks may carry include:
- Lyme disease – Caused by bacteria and can lead to fever, rash, facial paralysis if untreated.
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever – Caused by bacteria and can be deadly if not treated promptly with antibiotics.
- Ehrlichiosis – Bacterial illness that attacks white blood cells.
- Anaplasmosis – Bacterial disease that causes fever, chills, cough, nausea.
- Babesiosis – Parasitic disease that infects red blood cells.
- Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) – Causes a bullseye shaped rash similar to Lyme disease.
- Tick-borne relapsing fever – Caused by bacteria and leads to recurring fever, chills, aches.
- Tularemia – Rare bacterial infection that causes ulceration at tick bite site.
- Tick paralysis – Toxin from tick bite causes muscle weakness and paralysis.
Ticks thrive in overgrown grass, brush, woods, and forested areas. They wait on the tips of grass and bushes for an animal or human host to brush by so they can hitch a ride.
Once on a host, ticks crawl up the legs and attach to areas like the groin, armpits, scalp, and behind knees. They insert their feeding tube and can feed for several days before dropping off. The longer they feed, the higher the disease transmission risk.
Prevention Tips to Keep Ticks Away from Your Yard
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to dealing with ticks. Here are some key tips to keep ticks away from your yard and reduce your risk of tick bites and tick-borne illnesses:
Keep Grass Mowed
Ticks love hiding in tall grasses and overgrown brush. By keeping your lawn mowed short, to 3 inches high or less, you eliminate the protective cover ticks need. Mow often and don’t let grass get overgrown.
Remove Leaf Litter/Clear Brush
Rake up fallen leaves, clear away brush and debris, and remove any wood or rock piles from your yard. Ticks seek shady, moist areas to wait for hosts. Removing these habitat hotspots makes your yard less tick friendly.
Create Barriers with Wood Chips/Gravel
Place a 3-4 foot wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between wooded/forested areas and your lawn. This creates an open space ticks won’t cross as easily to reach your yard. Refresh gravel/wood chips in spring and fall.
Keep Play Areas & Patios Clear
Focus on keeping patios, play areas, sandboxes, and swing sets away from shrubs, brush, and wood borders. Creating a tick-free oasis makes these areas safer for kids and pets.
Prune Trees & Shrubs
Trimming overhanging branches, trees, and bushes back from the lawn edge opens up sunlight. This creates a hotter, drier space less suitable for ticks. Prune back shrubs and keep plants tidy.
Discourage Host Animals
Ticks quest for host animals like deer and rodents. Keep wild animals out of your yard by removing food sources and sealing off crawl spaces and gaps under porches/sheds. This lowers the host population and ticks.
Choose Tick-Resistant Plants
Opt for tick-repellent plants like lavender, chrysanthemums, marigolds, and mint in your landscaping. Avoid tick friendly ground cover plants like ivy and pachysandra.
By altering your yard’s landscape and vegetation, you force ticks to search elsewhere for the right habitat conditions they need to thrive.
Physical Removal Methods to Get Rid of Existing Ticks
If you already have an established tick problem in your yard, here are some DIY methods to actively remove and get rid of them:
Manually Check for and Remove Ticks
Do frequent tick checks on yourself, kids, and pets after being in the yard. Remove any found ticks promptly with fine-tipped tweezers. Don’t squeeze or twist the tick’s body.
Use Duct Tape to Pick Up Ticks
Wrap duct tape, sticky side out, around your ankles and legs. The tape picks up waiting ticks. Check the tape after walking through infested areas and seal any ticks inside it.
Mow Your Lawn
Run a mower over your entire yard to kill and disrupt waiting ticks. Make sure to use a mower with good blade coverage. Bag and safely dispose of debris.
Hire Wildlife Professionals
You may need to hire professionals to trap abundant mammal hosts and check for tick infestations if your yard borders forests or wooded spaces. Reducing local host populations can help lower ticks.
Flame Weeding/Targeted Heat Treatment
Use a propane weed torch to scorch tick habitat. Direct flame to the base of grasses, under bushes, and in lawn edge areas where ticks lurk. The heat kills them on contact.
Remove/Replace Tick Habitat Features
Eliminate brush piles, leaf litter, and excess mulch. Extend patios over former tick zones. Replace native plants near lawn borders with gravel walkways or mulch beds. Be proactive.
With diligence and patience, these direct removal tactics combined with prevention measures will help decrease ticks and make your yard less welcoming to them long-term.
Chemical Treatment Options for Tick Control and Elimination
For severe tick infestations, or when prevention and removal methods aren’t working well enough, targeted chemical treatments may be needed:
Insecticide/Acaricide Sprays
Use Environmental Protection Agency approved sprays containing permethrin, bifenthrin or cyfluthrin. Treat the lawn edge and a 10+ foot band into wooded areas. Reapply every 2 weeks as needed.
Granular/Liquid Systemic Insecticides
Apply systemic insecticides like carbaryl, lambda-cyhalothrin, dinotefuran or fipronil around the perimeter and trees. These are taken up by plants to kill ticks on contact. Reapply as directed.
Professional Pesticide Applications
Hire professional pest control companies to apply high potency permethrin, pyrethrin or carbaryl yard treatments. Professionals know best practices for maximum coverage and effectiveness.
Natural/Organic Sprays
For a non-toxic approach, use essential oil sprays with cedar oil, clove oil, lemongrass oil or rosemary oil applied to vegetation. Salt/vinegar mixtures can also dehydrate and kill ticks.
When using any chemical treatments, carefully follow label instructions for designated use sites, re-application intervals and protective equipment needed. Combining both do-it-yourself and professional treatments often provides the best tick control.
Ongoing Lawn Care Tips to Deter Ticks
Getting rid of ticks requires diligence beyond a one-time fix. You need to make tick prevention part of your regular yard care and maintenance:
- Treat your yard and property in spring and late summer when ticks are most active. Focus on wooded edges.
- Mow frequently, trim back encroaching shrubs/branches, and blow away leaf litter and debris. Ticks hate open, dry areas.
- Inspect and treat any new habitat tick hotspots that pop up. Be vigilant about areas near patios, playsets, etc.
- Reapply preferred chemical treatments according to product specifications to maintain protective barriers.
- Widen graveled/mulched beds around lawn borders and under trees/shrubs where ticks congregate.
- Work with neighbors to treat adjoining properties simultaneously. Ticks don’t respect property lines!
- Maintain tidiness. Make your yard an inhospitable place for ticks to thrive.
With regular prevention and control, you can enjoy your yard safely and minimize diseases caused by these unwanted blood-sucking pests. Don’t let ticks rule your outdoor fun!
Frequently Asked Questions about Eliminating Ticks in Your Yard
How do I know if I have ticks in my yard?
- Look for ticks crawling on plants, grass tips, patio edges and on pets or clothing after being outside. Small ticks can be hard to spot so also watch for signs of bites. Conduct frequent tick checks.
What time of year are ticks most active?
- Peak tick season is spring and summer, typically April-September in most regions. Larval ticks become active in late spring and nymphs are out mid spring through summer. Perform routine tick treatments and checks during these months.
How can I keep ticks off my pets?
- Use veterinarian recommended tick preventives like flea/tick collars, spot-on liquid treatments, or oral meds. Check dogs for ticks and comb to remove them promptly after time outside. Avoid letting pets into tick hotspots.
Should I use natural or chemical treatments?
- For moderate infestations, natural repellents like essential oils provide some control when applied diligently. But for heavy tick populations, the most effective control involves targeted chemical treatments around the yard perimeter and tick habitat areas. Often a combination works best.
How close should I allow wooded areas or brush to my lawn?
- Try to keep at least a 3-4 foot wide graveled or mulched barrier between your mowed lawn and any adjacent wooded/brushy areas. This creates a tick zone buffer and forces them to travel further to reach your yard, helping reduce numbers.
How often should I treat my yard for ticks?
- Treat twice per year, early spring and late summer, when tick populations are dense and active. For high risk yards with chronic tick issues or bordering wooded spaces, you may need more frequent treatments, even as often as every 3-4 weeks during peak season.
Conclusion
Ticks can quickly take over and become a nuisance if you don’t take steps to control them. But with smart prevention habits, landscape modifications, and proper treatment measures, you can reclaim your yard from these disease-carrying pests.
The best approach involves multiple tactics – maintaining tidy landscaping, applying chemical treatments judiciously, and doing routine tick checks anytime you’ve been outdoors. With some diligence and perseverance, you’ll soon be able to enjoy your yard tick-free.
The time you invest now to deter ticks will reward you with seasons of worry-free relaxation in your own outdoor sanctuary. Don’t live with the annoyance and health risks of ticks when solutions exist! Reclaim your yard and keep your family safe.