Tricks for Tick Prevention

Ticks, or tiny bloodsucking arachnids, are just about the worst pest you can have on your lawn. Not only do they suck your blood without your knowing it and leave itchy red marks, but they can also spread a number of diseases (Lyme disease being one of the most common). In order to prevent ticks from choosing your lawn as their home, try the following tips and tricks for tick prevention.

Build a Fence – Building a fence around your lawn will help to keep wild animals such as deer and raccoons who may be hosting ticks from wandering through.
Be Careful About Feeding Birds – Ticks like to leech off of birds just as much as they like mammals, so keeping birdhouses and birdfeeders beyond your yard will help keep ticks at bay. Birdhouses also make good homes for deer mice, which are also carriers of ticks.
Guard Against Rodents – Use caulking to seal cracks in your walls to ensure that rodents who may carry ticks, such as white-footed mice, cannot get in. You can also plant peppermint around your house, as the scent of peppermint is known to drive mice away.
Rake the Leaves/Mow the Lawn – Ticks enjoy humid areas such as the space between leaves and grass, and the warmth provided by longer grass. Keeping grass short and raking up leaves when they fall minimizes the space ticks feel comfortable in.
Use Mulch – Laying down mulch over areas where you need to walk regularly will help you avoid getting bitten by ticks, as ticks often await their victims by a behavior known as “questing,” wherein they hold onto the ends of grass and leaves with their lower legs and hold their upper legs outstretched, waiting to latch on to anything that passes by.
Grow Plants Ticks Hate – Ticks dislike the smell of certain plants. You can help to drive ticks away by planting lavender, garlic, sage and/or eucalyptus, most of which smell great and are quite useful to humans.

To protect your family and pets from blood-sucking ticks call Green Lawn today and take advantage of $10 off Flea and Tick Applications