No two yards are exactly the same and no two yards have the same problem with ticks. There are many factors that draw or drive ticks into a yard. Understanding these factors can help you reduce ticks around your home. The fewer ticks you have around your home, the lower your chances will be of having a tick infestation.
Tick-Wildlife Connection
Mammals and birds bring ticks into your yard. Everything you do to control wildlife traffic will help to reduce ticks. Here are some examples:
- Keep your trash in covered receptacles and routinely clean your receptacles to reduce smells.
- Put fencing around your property or around key areas such as gardens, berry bushes, fruit trees and other food sources. When installing fencing, make sure to put it at least a foot into the ground to prevent burrowing animals from going under.
- Put bird feeders outside of your outdoor recreational areas.
- Reduce clutter in your yard to reduce hiding places for rodents and other small mammals.
Tick-Moisture Connection
Ticks require a lot of moisture to survive. This need for moisture will cause them to hide in landscaping. Making your landscaping and the foundation perimeter around your home as dry as possible on the surface will help control tick populations. You can do this by:
- Putting space between plants in your landscaping, this will increase airflow and keep the topsoil drier.
- Trimming tree branches, this will let the sun in and keep things dry.
- Making sure your gutter system is working properly, a working gutter system will channel water away from your foundation walls and prevent saturation.
- Giving your plants only the water they need, this can reduce humidity in your landscaping.
Tick-Pet Connection
Do you have a dog or a cat? If so, you are more likely to have a tick infestation than homeowners who do not have a pet. You are also at greater risk for tick-borne diseases. Here are a few ways you can keep your pets and everyone in your home more protected.
Make sure your pets have veterinarian-prescribed tick products. Be sure to use more than just collars. Tick collars are not the end all for tick control.
If you have a dog, consider creating a fenced-in outdoor recreation area. This will reduce wildlife traffic in this area and keep your dog from exploring your landscaping and picking up ticks.
Do routine tick checks on your pet. Look in the ears and between the toes where ticks tend to attach.
Keep in mind that insect repellents help to keep ticks off. There are repellents available for dogs and cats. If ticks keep appearing, this may help reduce the risk.
Tick-Rodent Connection
Not only do rodents bring ticks into your yard, they can bring them into your home. Mice and rats can have several ticks on them. As those mice and rats explore your home at night, they can drop ticks as they go. This can lead to an infestation. Therefore, rodent control should be a high priority for all homeowners. Here are some tips for protecting your home from rodents invasion.
- Inspect your door sweeps, weather stripping and door frames for any holes or gaps. It only takes a hole the size of a dime for a rodent to squeeze in. Use a caulking gun to fill in gaps and holes till you can have them properly repaired.
- Cut trees back away from your roof. This will prevent rodents from jumping onto your roof and gaining access through vulnerabilities along your roofline and around roof penetrations such as exhaust pipes, skylights, and vents.
- Inspect all window frames for gaps around the outside edge. Seal any gaps you find.
# 1 Way to Reduce Ticks
When it comes to controlling ticks, the team here at Spencer Pest Services doesn’t mess around. We know how dangerous ticks are, and we know that controlling them requires routine, seasonal treatments. That is why we’ve added tick control to our Outdoor Living Package and our Complete Package. If you want the best possible protection from tick-borne diseases, this is the way to go. Reach out to us and schedule a free inspection to get started. We’ll send a pest control expert right to your front door. It’s just that simple.