After a wet Winter and a mild start to Spring, ticks are going to be in plentiful supply in Ocean County. Of course we all want to protect our pets and family members, so here are five useful tips to help keep ticks out of your yard:

  • Keep your yard tended
    Something as simple as keeping your lawn mowed and your yard tidy can help. Ticks love dark places to hide, including long grass, piles of leaves, and under bushes. Keeping your grass short, and yard debris to a minimum can help keep the pests away.
  • Some plants naturally repel ticks
    Who knew? According to "The Gardening Cook", plants like chrysanthemums, geraniums, lavender and peppermint contain natural chemicals that deter ticks.
  • Enlist critters to help you out
    Here's an interesting idea, especially if you live near a wooded area anyway, from the folks at Houselogic.com: get mice to do the work for you! Create “tick tubes” by stuffing cotton balls soaked in pesticide into toilet paper tubes. Leave several of the tubes in your yard for rodents to discover. Mice will use the cotton to build their nests all over your yard, killing ticks in the process. They suggest using a chemical called permethrin, which kills ticks but is safe for the mice.
  • Keep deer away
    As nice as they are to look at, unfortunately, deer are prolific carriers of ticks, so they're better seen from afar - in other words, out of your yard! Keep your yard fenced in or even use deer repellent. Again, they may be pretty, but they can leave some pretty unpleasant things behind, including disease carrying ticks.
  • Build a DIY tick barrier
    Believe it or not, you can do some creative landscaping while keeping ticks out! Building a wide strip of rocks, mulch, or gravel will deter ticks from wandering on to your property.

 

So there you go, five simple solutions that could literally end up saving the life of someone you love! What are some of your anti-tick strategies? Tell us in the comments!

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