3 Landscape Modifications That Can Reduce Tick Numbers
Ticks are a frustrating issue for many people. Ticks carry diseases that can create serious medical problems for both people and animals.
If you want to be able to enjoy your outdoor living space without worrying about the possibility of a tick bite, you need to be proactive in reducing the number of ticks residing on your property.
Your local arborist can be a valuable resource when it comes to making landscape tick control modifications that can make your property less attractive to ticks in the area.
1. Prune Your Trees
Pruning the trees in your home's landscape on a regular basis can go a long way toward reducing the tick population on your property. Ticks like to live in shady, moist areas. Trees that are not kept trimmed can create many of these areas throughout your yard.
Routine pruning helps to thin out the canopy of your trees. Pruning promotes air circulation and allows more sunlight to filter through your trees. Increased air circulation and sunlight can dry out any moist areas that could attract ticks in the area.
You will also be able to enjoy the added benefit of healthier and more resilient trees when you make pruning a part of your tick management protocol.
2. Remove Wood Piles
Homeowners who trim trees themselves often end up with a pile of leaves and branches. Allowing this litter to remain on your property can encourage ticks to take up residence near your home.
Wood piles tend to attract mice and other small rodents. Mice can harbor a significant number of ticks, and they bring these bugs with them when they move into your wood piles. An arborist will be able to eliminate your wood piles so that mice have nowhere to hide on your property.
Eliminating mice will help to reduce the number of ticks that infiltrate your yard each year.
3. Create a Barrier
If you live near a wooded area, you will need to create a barrier between the woods and your property if you want to reduce the number of ticks you deal with over time. The best barriers are made of wood chips or gravel.
Your local arborist can help you clear away any trees, shrubs, or tall grasses located on the outer edges of your property.
Gravel or wood chips can then be placed over the top of these cleared areas. This creates a barrier that will help to prevent ticks from traveling into your yard.