How Do I Keep Ticks Away from My Home?

With spring here and summer on its way, ticks are looking for prey. These tiny arachnids are dangerous to you and your pets. Ticks can transmit diseases that can be fatal, and no one likes to find them crawling on their body or worse, dug in and feeding on blood from you or your pets. Although we can protect ourselves from getting parasitic insects and arachnids on us by using insect repellent sprays, lotions, citronella candles and tiki torches, there are other proactive ways to keep them at bay.

Keep Your Lawn Mowed

This is one very simple way to keep ticks away from you and your pets. Ticks are able to get on their victims whenever someone or something brushes against trees, shrubs or tall grasses. Ticks do not drop off trees onto us, though sometimes it feels like they do. Honestly ticks get on their hosts simply when a host brushes against tall plants, then they easily climb on board searching for the right place to bite.  So, keeping tall plants, trees, and shrubs trimmed and pruned is one way to keep ticks from getting on you or your pets. In a similar fashion keeping your lawn neatly trimmed also keeps them away.

Store Wood and Gardening Materials in Sunny Dry Areas

If you have a wood-stove or fireplace, you likely have a pile of wood nearby that you can easily get to. If your woodpile is in a shady and/or moist area, it creates a haven for ticks and other insects. Most insects and arachnids do not like to be exposed, it makes them an easy target for animals that eat insects, like opossums, chickens, and many other birds. Furthermore, areas that hold moisture create a source of water for ticks, spiders, and insects. So, if you have a pile of bags of topsoil for gardening or if you have a woodpile or other insect shelter, be sure it is in a clean, dry area that you keep well-trimmed so unwanted critters don’t use squatter’s rights near your home.

Create Barriers That Ticks Don’t Like to Cross

Proper landscaping and beautification techniques can also keep ticks away. There are some kinds of materials that ticks simply do not like to cross. If you live near a wooded area or open field, you can create an insect barrier between the field and trees to keep them away from your lawn or recreational area. This barrier can consist of special mulches like cedar chips or pine chips or a combination of both. Strong smells sway many insects from advancing. You can also use gravel or cement as a border because ticks won’t want to cross these areas.

Plant Beautiful Insect-Repelling Plants

You can make your yard and home more beautiful with plants, but there are many plants that also produce a strong fragrance that ticks, bugs, and spiders don’t like. Planting several of these around your home can act as a natural repellent for unwanted pests. Some plants that work well to keep critters away are as follows:

1.     Tobacco Plants- nicotine is toxic to insects; if they come in contact with tobacco plants most insects die.
2.     Plants that produce essential oils have insecticide-like properties.
3.     Rosemary- is a great repellant that grows well indoors and out, and they are evergreens.
4.     Thyme- This is a perennial evergreen known to repel ticks.
5.     Sage- A powerful aroma that keeps many pests away, and as a bonus, like thyme and rosemary, it’s a cooking spice.

Other examples are Mint, Catnip, Eucalyptus, Fleabane Daisy, Marigolds, Lavender, Pennyroyal and more.

If you want professional help to keep ticks away, you can contact All-Natural pest Elimination at 877-662-8449 for an estimate for your home if you find you have a pest issue.