Can Wood Ash Really Keep Ticks From Invading Your Garden?

You've just burned wood in your fireplace or your firepit and have all of that ash left over. You know it's full of natural products since you didn't add any chemicals to it. There are some surprising uses for fireplace ash, but you may not have thought to use it to deter ticks in your yard. Can ash really help to keep ticks out of your grass and garden? The short answer is no, wood ash isn't an effective prevention strategy, but does offer some key benefits to your garden.

Ticks are problematic for many reasons. It's not uncommon for ticks to carry parasites along with viruses and bacteria that can make people sick, including Lyme disease, a dangerous illness that can impact the nervous system, heart, and joints if transmitted to a person. Because ticks are small and hard to spot unless you're looking for them, reducing the risk of their presence in your yard is a good thing.

The use of a natural substance like wood ash would seem to be a great option to keep these ticks at bay. That's especially true since so many people turn to chemical-based products to do the work otherwise –- and that means more chemicals added to the ecosystem, which isn't ideal. Before you try wood ash for tick prevention, there are a few things to keep in mind.

There are no scientific studies that show definitively that wood ash is an effective treatment option for existing ticks, nor that it will prevent ticks from entering your yard. Since ticks are such a worrisome pest to have in your yard, near your pets, and even in the wooded areas around your home where kids play, you will want to choose a reliable mitigation method.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers several strategies. The list includes using tick-specific pesticides in at-risk areas, removing leaf litter, and keeping tall grass and brush trimmed away from your home. The CDC also recommends mowing the lawn consistently, keeping wood clean and neat so that it dries out well after rain, and doing whatever you can to keep critters who can carry ticks, like deer and raccoons, from coming into your yard. A fence may be a good option when possible. Most importantly, if you use these tips for keeping ticks out of your yard and still have a problem, call in a professional exterminator. Because ticks do carry disease, don't minimize the importance of choosing a reliable solution to protect your yard.

You should consider introducing the nutrient-rich wonders of wood ash to your garden. It is an exceptional addition because it can provide macronutrients that build up the plant's cell walls and reduce the risk of calcium deficiency in the soil — a common reason why plants fail to thrive. It can also improve the pH level of the soil.

Wood ashes work well as a pest repellent, keeping snails and slugs away from your plants. Just sprinkle some of the ash around your plants to see this benefit. The ash will add acidity to the garden, which may make it an undesirable place for fleas and ticks. But you'd need to add ash to the garden consistently to boost the overall acidity enough to discourage ticks. So it's probably best to follow the CDC recommendations for tick control and save the wood ash for plant nutrition instead.