How Do I Keep Ticks off of My Lawn?

“What is the best way of getting rid of ticks? My lawn and yard are infested, and I have gotten Lyme disease.” Question from Kathy of West Rutland, Vermont

Answer: Ticks are the worst and a real worry for people living where Lyme and other tick-borne diseases are a problem. Of course, tiny deer ticks are the carriers of Lyme disease, and they contribute to over 99% of all tick-borne diseases in the state of Vermont, but there are several other larger tick species in the state that can also be problematic.

Six Steps for Tick Removal in Yards and Lawns

Here are six good ways to keep ticks off of your lawn and away from your yard. Some are more practical and doable than others.

1. Spray the yard with all-natural tick repellents and killers, like Tick Killz and Wondercide Flea and Tick Spray. These products can be costly, but they are effective. The best application times are in mid-spring and midsummer.

2. Set tick traps, such as Thermacell Control Tick Tubes,  along your yard’s periphery. These capture and kill ticks and are not a threat to pets or other organisms.

3. Plant tick-repellent plants in your garden and along your yard’s periphery. These include strongly-scented plants such as lavender, sage, mint, feverfew, pennyroyal (this can cause allergic reactions in some people), and marigolds. (Amending your soil at planting time with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend will help all of these plants grow better!)

4. Cut your grass short, bag your clippings, and keep your grass leaf-free. Ticks like to hang out in yard waste and leaves as well as tall grasses and shrubs. Keeping your grass clean and low will help deter ticks.

5. Treat your pets for ticks, and try to keep wild animals out of your yard. Pets and wild animals are tick carriers. Some wild animals, like possums, eat ticks, but most are just carriers. Deer are some of the worst. Applying a quality animal repellant around your yard can help.

6. Consider investing in chickens or guinea hens, which require care and protection but eat ticks in large quantities. You may not have space for chickens, but they will take care of tick populations in the lawn right away, and you’ll get eggs.

I hope that these tips help!

Jessie Keith

Black Gold Horticulturist

 

About JESSIE KEITH


Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.

Leave a Reply

Content Disclaimer:

This site may contain content (including images and articles) as well as advice, opinions and statements presented by third parties. Sun Gro does not review these materials for accuracy or reliability and does not endorse the advice, opinions, or statements that may be contained in them. Sun Gro also does not review the materials to determine if they infringe the copyright or other rights of others. These materials are available only for informational purposes and are presented “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including without limitation warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. Reliance upon any such opinion, advice, statement or other information is at your own risk. In no event shall Sun Gro Horticulture Distribution, Inc. or any of its affiliates be liable to you for any inaccuracy, error, omission, fact, infringement and the like, resulting from your use of these materials, regardless of cause, or for any damages resulting there from.