How To Stop Ticks From Taking Over Your Lawn

According to John Hopkins Medicine, ticks are known to carry harmful diseases, such as Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, so keeping them off your lawn will allow you to enjoy spending time outdoors with more peace of mind. There are numerous ways to keep these insects away, such as regularly mowing the grass and putting up fences to deter animals that may carry ticks, such as deer and raccoons. Avoiding contact with these insects is important for your family's safety, as tick populations have been increasing, and the yearly number of people getting sick from tick bites has doubled since 2004, per PBS News Hour. Besides the more well-known diseases, ticks can also carry Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Colorado tick fever, Tularemia, and various other dangerous illnesses.

These tiny insects are not only a threat to humans, but pets are also at a high risk of contracting diseases, particularly Lyme disease (via American Kennel Club). For people with dogs or outdoor cats, keeping ticks away is important for protecting them. By properly maintaining your lawn and creating barriers, you'll be able to make your yard a less desirable place for ticks to live.

To prevent these insects from traveling further onto your lawn, try laying a few feet of gravel or wood chips around the border of your yard. These areas will become dry and hot in the sun, making it harder for ticks to climb over your barrier and into your grass. This method can also be helpful around places you spend a lot of time, like your deck or play area.

Ticks love to hide in moist, shady locations, so placing your kids' swing set or slide in a spot with lots of sun will help keep them away. It's also a good idea to build your deck or patio in the sun and away from the edge of your yard. While you can occasionally find ticks in mowed grass, they prefer taller grass and are more likely to be found near the perimeters of your property.

Keeping your bushes or shrubs neatly trimmed is another good way to minimize your contact with ticks. When long branches hang over your sidewalks or porch, you're more likely to brush against them as you walk by and end up with a tick crawling on you. If you like to collect wood for your fire pit, keeping it dry, in the sun, and nicely stacked is best. This will make it an undesirable spot for these pesky bugs to hide.

Those looking for some natural remedies for repelling ticks can try growing plants that are unappealing to them. Having lemongrass, lavender, rosemary, marigold, and mint along your porch will help keep ticks away, as they don't enjoy their scents. It's still important to check yourself, your family, and your pets for ticks, but with these precautions in place, they shouldn't want to hang out on your lawn.