This Is How To Make Your Yard And Body The Last Places Any Tick Wants To Be (2024)

This Is How To Make Your Yard And Body The Last Places Any Tick Wants To Be (1)

Maybe you’re itching to start a garden or relax on your lawn. Or, perhaps you can’t wait to hit the hiking trails or go camping. All fun things! But any time you relish in the great outdoors you also risk exposing yourself to some pesky little buggers: ticks. So, it’s crucial to know how to avoid and get rid of ticks.

While ticks are *technically* around all year and present in virtually every U.S. state, they tend to cause the most trouble from April to September, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “Wherever you are, when it starts warming up, that’s when insects and ticks are going to be proactive,” says Walter Schrading, MD, director of the Office of Wilderness Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

What’s more: Cases of tickborne diseases like Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease have more than doubled in the past 13 years, and the little critters that cause them have been expanding their territory, per the CDC.

This doesn’t mean you have to confine yourself to the couch during warm-weather months (and please don’t). The key is to lower your chances of being bitten by prepping your yard, clothes, and gear, and to know exactly what to do if you find a blood-sucker on you.

Consider this your crash course in how to get rid of ticks, keep ticks away altogether, and what to do if you get bitten, with expert insight from doctors and tick experts.

What are the best ways to get rid of ticks in your yard?

Good news: The yard work that’s already on your to-do list this time of year will help keep your tick exposure to a minimum. Ticks thrive in woodsy, high-humidity areas, and their carriers (such as deer, mice, and raccoons) are apt to wander through tall grasses or hide in piles of leaves, wood, and other debris.

So, cleaning up your yard could help lower your chances of welcoming in ticks and the animals that carry them. “Ticks do not like sunny, manicured lawns,” says Sunjya Schweig, MD, scientific advisory board member for the Bay Area Lyme Foundation and co-director of the California Center for Functional Medicine in Berkeley, California.

Here are a few ways to keep your yard as tick-free as possible:

  • Keep your grass short. Ticks tend to climb onto you from surrounding greenery, so mow your lawn often (especially around the edge of your yard, fence, and sitting areas), promptly rake up and remove leaves, and prune bushes and trees, says Jim Fredericks, PhD, chief entomologist for the National Pest Management Association.
  • Create tick-safe hangout spots. Looking for a fun project for spring? Consider laying down a gravel or stone walkway or patio for an area near your home where you don’t have to be on guard for ticks so much, or spread three feet of wood chips or mulch around the border of your yard to deter unwanted invaders, the CDC recommends.
  • Spray for ticks. You can spray areas in your yard with a pesticide that contains bifenthrin (the gold-standard chemical for tick control) yourself, but a licensed pest control pro will know exactly when to spray (sometimes, in early spring, summer, and fall) and where. You typically want to spray along the perimeter of your yard, but you may want to coat just about everywhere, depending on where you live, says Thomas Mather (a.k.a. The Tick Guy), PhD, director of the Center for Vector-Borne Disease and its TickEncounter Resource Center at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston. You should be aware that some sprays can also deter bugs you might want around, like bees, so if that's one of your concerns, you might want to consider a natural spray like Wondercide. The repellent is plant-based and doesn't present a hazard to pets, plants, or kids. It's made without harsh chemicals, and powered by cedar essential oil. One caveat: Experts don't know if this natural spray is as effective as other chemical sprays, so consult a pest control expert to access your situation before relying on it.

Wondercide Flea, Tick, and Mosquito Yard Spray

This Is How To Make Your Yard And Body The Last Places Any Tick Wants To Be (3)

  • Put up a fence. If there’s room in your budget, fencing can help keep out some tick magnets, like deer. Another option: Plant a garden to keep deer away with lots of wildflowers and fragrant herbs like rosemary and mint which, lucky for you, they don’t like, says Dr. Schweig.
  • Add some tick tubes to your yard. They're basically cardboard tubes that have been treated with an insecticide called permethrin. The tubes are designed to target ticks that may live on mice or where they burrow. "The idea is to place these tubes around your property so that mice can find them, take the treated cotton in them to their burrow to use for nesting material. Any ticks that are on the mouse or in the burrow will be killed by the permethrin," says Marc Potzler, board-certified entomologist for Ehrlich Pest Control. White-footed mice are known to carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

What are the best ways to get rid of ticks in your house?

There’s no need to treat the inside of your home for ticks. “With the exception of the brown dog tick, most ticks cannot survive and reproduce indoors,” says Fredericks. (Whew.) As such, your goal should be to make sure you’re not bringing ticks in with you.

Here’s what to do for a tick-free home:

  • Check yourself as soon as you get in. After you’ve been outside, head for a full-length mirror to do a quick tick check (it only takes about 30 seconds), says Mather. Some hot spots to look out for: Under your arms, around your ears, inside your belly button, behind your knees, between your legs, around your waist, and in your hair.
  • Hit the shower. Some ticks that are most likely to pass on infections like Lyme disease are about the size of the period at the end of this sentence (ugh). So, if you’ve been in a tick-friendly area, taking a shower is one of the easiest ways to shed super-tiny ticks that haven't latched on but are on the prowl, says Dr. Schweig.
  • Protect your pets. Make sure to check your pup or cat for ticks (and perhaps don’t let them hop onto your bed or couch if they just came in), says Mather. For a long-term solution, ask your vet about monthly preventative meds if they’re not on them already, per the CDC.
  • Heat up your laundry. After being outside or in wooded areas, wash and dry your dirty clothes on high-heat settings to kill ticks (even just 10 minutes in the dryer will do the trick), per the CDC. Check the label on your backpack and camping gear and throw them in, too, if possible.
  • Spray in indoor-outdoor spaces. Though ticks can't live indoors due to humidity levels, they can dwell in spaces like cabins, storage sheds, and doghouses. "Ticks need very high humidity levels: 85 percent or higher to develop. This level is generally not found indoors, especially in combination with the other needs of ticks for reproduction," says Potzler. He also points out that ticks need vegetation to hide from the sun while looking for a host, as well as leaf litter or logs to lay eggs under. Searching for a host is known as questing, which is when ticks hang out at the end of a branch or other protrusion along an animal pathway, waiting for a potential host to come by. That environment can be found in something like a doghouse or shed, or your dog can carry ticks in its fur, so you'll want to spray the windows or baseboards of indoor-outdoor areas like this with a natural pesticide like Wondercide to be extra safe.
  • Sprinkle diatomaceous earth in indoor-outdoor areas. Diatomaceous earth (DE) is a natural tick repellent that's mined from the earth. "It's actually the glass shells of diatoms, which are minute sea creatures. As the diatoms die in the sea, the glass shells pile up on the seafloor," says Potzler. Ticks don't like it, and it's non-toxic and safe for other arthropod animals, like caterpillars. "When applied properly, it would provide protection against ticks in the tufts and folds of bedding and the adjacent baseboards and cracks." But Potzler says that DE can cause physical abrasion and irritation to the eyes and skin if improperly handled, or lung issues if inhaled, so make sure to follow all the directions when putting it down to avoid any issues.

If you do find a tick has made its way into your home, resist the temptation to squish it (which could expose you to the infectious germs it’s carrying) and flush it or bag it instead.

    What’s the best way to get rid of a tick on your body?

    Let's start with what *not* to do: Don’t yank it off and smash the bugger. If you rip it out, the tick’s mouth could remain, along with the germs that cause infection and disease, explains Dr. Schweig. Ignore the old wives’ tales, too: Nail polish, vaseline, gasoline, and matches are never safe tick-removal tools, says Dr. Schrading. (If it sounds weird or dangerous, it’s probably not a good idea.)

    Women's Insect Shield UPF V-Neck Tee

    This Is How To Make Your Yard And Body The Last Places Any Tick Wants To Be (4)

    Instead, grab a pair of fine-tipped tweezers and follow this handy guide to remove a tick:

    1. Use tweezers (or your fingers covered with a tissue or plastic bag if you don’t have tweezers) to grasp the tick as close to your skin as possible.
    2. Slowly pull the tick straight back and away from your skin.
    3. If any parts of the tick’s mouth are left in your skin, repeat as necessary to remove them.
    4. Thoroughly clean the bite area with soap and water and apply an antiseptic, like rubbing alcohol.
    5. Flush the tick down the toilet or dispose of it in a sealed bag or container.

    While some diseases might be transmitted more quickly, in most cases, you’re not going to develop Lyme disease if you remove a tick within 24 hours. If you’re worried it’s been longer than that, you can’t remove the tick, or you start to develop symptoms like a fever or rash, call a doctor to figure out what you need to do.

    Make sure to tell the doctor when and where you believe you were bitten, but don’t worry about bringing the tick along for your appointment—your doc will know what to do without having to examine the actual tick that bit you, says Dr. Schrading.

    What’s the best way to avoid getting a tick bite altogether?

    Thankfully, protecting yourself from ticks is pretty easy. Here’s how to reduce your chances of getting bitten by a tick:

    • Tick-proof your wardrobe. Before you head into the woods, treat your shoes and clothing with insecticides that contain 0.5 percent permethrin by following the instructions on the label (pro tip: spray them until they’re actually wet, not just with a light spritz, and re-spray after six washes). Or, get pre-treated gear from a company like Insect Shield (which lasts up to 70 washes!), says Mather.

    Sawyer Products Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent

    This Is How To Make Your Yard And Body The Last Places Any Tick Wants To Be (5)

    • Cover up. No permethrin spray on hand but have plans to spend a lot of time outside? At least seal yourself off from ticks the best you can. Wear leggings or pants tucked into boots with socks pulled over them, tuck in a light-colored long-sleeve tee (which makes it easier to spot crawlers on you), and put on a wide-brimmed hat.
    • Spray on tick repellent. Use an EPA-approved tick repellent that contains effective active ingredients (read: at least 20 percent DEET, IR3535, picaridin, or oil of lemon eucalyptus), per the CDC. Off! Deep Woods Insect Repellent, Cutter Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent, and Sawyer Products Premium Insect Repellent all fit the bill.
    • Know where ticks like to chill. Trail running, gardening, hiking, and camping could all put you in tick territory, so stick to the center of well-worn paths and don’t wander off into tall grasses for a photo op.

      Ultimately, after all of your exploring, one of the easiest things you can do to keep yourself safe from ticks is to make tick checks a habit and hop in the shower (you’re probably sweaty, anyway!). And the faster you find and flush a tick, the better.

      And while not every tick is carrying disease (most tick bites are totally harmless), it’s always better to be safe than sorry. So protect yourself first and foremost, and don't hesitate to talk to a doctor if you're unsure about a bug bite.

      This Is How To Make Your Yard And Body The Last Places Any Tick Wants To Be (6)

      Lauren Krouse

      Lauren Krouse is a freelance writer who covers health, domestic violence, and self-advocacy. Her work appears in _Women’s Health, Men’s Health, Prevention, Self, HuffPost, and elsewhere. When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to meditate more, weightlifting, or walking in the woods with her partner and black lab.

      This Is How To Make Your Yard And Body The Last Places Any Tick Wants To Be (2024)

      FAQs

      This Is How To Make Your Yard And Body The Last Places Any Tick Wants To Be? ›

      Create tick-safe hangout spots.

      What can you put in your yard to keep ticks away? ›

      Garlic, sage, mint, lavender, beautyberry, rosemary and marigolds are some of the most familiar and effective tick-repelling plants, and they are great to use in landscaping borders around decks, walkways, pet runs, patios and other areas to keep ticks away.

      What do ticks hate the most? ›

      Not only smell great, but they are also known to be natural tick repellents. Ticks hate the smell of lemon, orange, cinnamon, lavender, peppermint, and rose geranium so they'll avoid latching on to anything that smells of those items.

      Is there anything you can eat to keep ticks away? ›

      There are changes you can make to your diet to discourage ticks. A diet high in garlic, onions and sources of vitamin B1 (thiamin), such as tuna, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, asparagus and leafy greens, for example, can alter your body chemistry in a way that ticks don't appreciate, so they aren't as likely to bite.

      How do I make natural tick repellent for my yard? ›

      Mix four ounces of distilled or boiled water, witch hazel, and 30-50 drops of cedar oil in a spray bottle. Add lavender or vanilla for a sweet for an additional sweet smell. Cedar oil spray can be applied to clothes, skin, as well as on plants.

      What is the best natural tick repellent? ›

      7 Effective, Natural, And Safe Tick Repellents From The Plant...
      • Cypress. ...
      • Juniper. ...
      • Balsam torchwood. ...
      • Osage orange. ...
      • Tauroniro tree. ...
      • Geraniol. ...
      • Lemon eucalyptus.

      What kills ticks and keep them away? ›

      Diatomaceous Earth

      DE destroys the waxy outer layer of ticks, causing them to dehydrate. Not only does this abrasive powder help to kill adult ticks, but it also prevents new ones from hatching.

      How do farmers keep ticks away? ›

      What follows are some steps to take to manage the tick population on your farm: Keep all areas where tall grass grows mowed and dry. You also should consider applying tick granules to the grass. Treat house pets with flea and tick repellent.

      Do ticks live in mowed grass? ›

      When lawns are nearby, ticks move into mowed areas, too. But more than 80% stay in the lawn's outer 9 feet. Low-lying ground covers and low-hanging shrubs in gardens or foundation plantings are also prime spots for ticks. Ticks typically move onto humans or animals that brush against grasses or weeds when passing by.

      What attracts ticks to your yard? ›

      Environmental factors like thick grass, the presence of weeds and damp soil can attract ticks. On average, ticks will reside on the outer portion of a lawn. The outer portions of the lawn is generally where things like leaf piles, ground litter and low tree branches are found.

      What is the best homemade flea and tick spray for your yard? ›

      Neem oil is one of the most effective flea and tick prevention products. As a natural product, it will not cause harm to you or your yard. Mixing the oil with apple cider vinegar will yield the best solution. In a spray bottle, mix 4 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons of neem oil, and 2 cups of water.

      How do you make a tick free yard? ›

      Maintaining a Tick-free Yard
      1. Keep your grass cut short (2 inches)
      2. Prune plants, shrubs, and bushes to let in more sunlight.
      3. Remove leaf litter and underbrush around transition areas, including sheds and stonewalls.
      4. Store woodpiles off the ground and away from your home.

      What eats the most ticks? ›

      Yes, opossums are one of the top predators for ticks and kill more than 90 percent of the ticks they encounter. Not only are opossums really good at removing ticks, they can also eat up to 5,000 ticks per season.

      How to make your yard tick free? ›

      Maintaining a Tick-free Yard
      1. Keep your grass cut short (2 inches)
      2. Prune plants, shrubs, and bushes to let in more sunlight.
      3. Remove leaf litter and underbrush around transition areas, including sheds and stonewalls.
      4. Store woodpiles off the ground and away from your home.

      What ground cover repels ticks? ›

      Pennyroyal, a small but fragrant member of the mint family, is a shady ground cover with lilac flowers while deterring ticks, fleas, ants, aphids and cabbage maggots. The dried leaves of pennyroyal can be ground in a blender to make a powder that can be rubbed on pets.

      What scent gets rid of ticks? ›

      Essential oils have been found in studies to be effective for repelling ticks. There are many essential oils that may provide you with some degree of protection. Some of the most effective, as determined in studies, are oregano oil, thyme and citronella, and clove bud oils.

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