How to Eliminate Ticks from Your Yard

Ticks place your family members and pets at high risk of contracting the tick’s diseases. It is therefore prudent for you to do whatever you can to reduce the chance that ticks will set up home in your yard. This article discusses some of the steps that you can take towards getting rid of ticks.

Keep the Presence of Wildlife Minimal

Any wildlife, such as squirrels, rabbits and wild cats that visit your yard heightens the risk that ticks will get onto your property. This is because those wild creatures often carry these bloodsucking pests in their fur and on their bodies.

Take eco-friendly steps to make your yard less attractive to that wildlife. For example, don’t leave garbage lying around because it will attract wild cats and skunks to your yard. AAI Pest Control also recommends that you fence your yard in a way that doesn’t violate the Homeowners’ Association or spoil the visual appeal of the property. Such fencing will deter some of the wildlife from accessing your property.

Get Repellent Plants

Another easy way to limit the chance that ticks will call your yard home is by planting specific plants that are known to repel different pests. For example, citronella, eucalyptus, and thyme have been documented as pest repellents. Having such plants in your yard will, therefore, deter ticks from having a permanent presence on your property.

Make Cleanliness Your Motto

Merced pest control professionals reveal that having a neat yard is one of the simplest ways to keep ticks away. You should, therefore, develop a habit of cleaning your yard thoroughly every two or so weeks. During that cleaning exercise, remove any debris that may be lying around the yard. Neatly pile any wood that you are saving for the winter. Trim and prune the trees in your yard so that sunlight can penetrate every part of those trees. This will eliminate the hiding places that may be used by ticks to reproduce. Your efforts to clean the yard should be particularly emphasized during the summer when ticks breed.

Mow Your Lawn

It is not enough for you to mow the lawn without paying attention to how low you are mowing that grass. Tall grass favors the proliferation of ticks because they will have sufficient cool spots to hide from predators and breed. Pest control in Merced, CA will be easy if you keep the grass within the 2-3 inch height. This height is the right window within which you can attain your pest control objectives without putting the health of the grass at risk.

Keep the Number of Oak Trees Minimal

It may sound like a myth, but keeping oak trees minimal in your yard can actually help to keep ticks away. Why is this so? Acorns attract a variety of wildlife, such as deer, and that wildlife often carries ticks with it wherever it goes. Furthermore, mice usually store acorns for their winter survival, so reducing acorns can prevent these pests from surviving the harsh winter when food is scarce. As you know, the death of such pests will reduce the tick problem in your yard.

Pay Attention to Your Pet’s Favorite Spots

You can also reduce or eliminate the tick population in your yard by paying special attention to the spots where your pets like hanging out. For example, treat the dog run with a tick-killing, eco-friendly chemical. You should also do the same for the spots in your fence and underneath the porch if you notice that your pets spend a lot of time there. Experts at AAI Pest Control say that ticks like to stay within a small radius from the animals that they feed on, so treating the areas frequented by your pets will get rid of any larvae and mature ticks waiting for their meal.

You are likely to have limited results if you just pick one of the techniques above and use it to control the tick population in your yard. AAI Pest Control recommends that you use as many of those methods as you can in order to increase your chances of a positive outcome. Contact us if ticks become a menace despite your DIY efforts to control them in your Merced, CA yard. Our professionals will make quick work of dealing with that problem and you will soon have your yard to yourself once again.