Ticks are dangerous to your family’s health as they can carry pathogens that cause disease. If you have detected ticks on your property you will want to get rid of ticks in the yard as soon as possible.
The best deterrence against ticks is maintaining a clean, tidy backyard with no leaf litter for ticks to breed in. The best defense against a tick infestation is to apply insecticide to the affected area and apply an insect repellent to yourself and family. The insecticide will get rid of ticks fast.
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What are Ticks?
Ticks are not classified as insects but have eight legs and are actually members of the arachnid family (same as spiders).
Ticks live by consuming blood from animals and humans. Similar to mosquitos, ticks can infect you and your pets with diseases.
What Do Ticks Look Like?
Ticks hatch from eggs and pass through a larvae stage which is commonly called “grass ticks”. These larvae are only up to 0.5mm in size and later develop into the nymph stage which is up to about 1.2mm in size. Adult ticks range from 0.5mm to 4mm in size.
Don’t confuse water bugs with ticks. If you suspect you have water bugs please read our article:
How to Get Rid of Water Bugs in the Pool
Ticks are Dangerous to Your Health
Ticks feed on blood and they don’t care if it’s animal or human. Once they bite a host their jaws lock on to the bite-site and they partially bury themselves into their host’s skin. This activity makes finding and removing a tick difficult.
A tick can remain latched to an animal or human for up to ten days or until the tick has gorged itself with blood.
Ticks can carry many diseases which can be transferred to the host. The most common and well-known tick transmitted disease is Lyme disease. However, ticks can carry many other pathogens that cause a whole host of diseases in animals and humans.
Where Do Ticks Live?
Ticks are found in most countries around the world especially when there is cattle, sheep and goat farming. They are prevalent in woodland and grassland areas where they can latch onto animals. They are found in all continental US states.
Signs of a Tick Infestation
Usually, the first and only sign you will have of a tick infestation is finding ticks on yourself of your pets.
You may notice tick larvae (commonly called ‘grass ticks’) in the Fall and Winter, whereas the adult ticks will be common in Spring and Summer.
All stages of ticks require blood meals to grow and develop so you can be bitten at any time of the year.
How Do You Check for Ticks?
One simple way to detect if ticks are in your backyard is to drag a piece of material through the grass and see if it picks up any ticks. Cut a small piece of material about 6 inches square from old clothing or a rag. Attach the material to a stick and drag the material around your yard over long grass and plants. If there are ticks they will attach to the cloth and you will see what you have to deal with.
If you have detected ticks on your property you will want to get rid of ticks in the yard as soon as possible.
Check your pets for ticks. Ticks will move to moist areas where there is soft skin before they bite and bury themselves in the pet’s skin. Please ensure you check your pet’s groin, belly, under-arms, behind ears and under the tail.
How to Prevent Ticks in the Backyard
Mow Your Lawns Regularly
Try to keep lawns neat and tidy. Long grass always attracts ticks and makes it easier for them to breed. A female tick lays 100 – 200 eggs at a time so you don’t want them to breed in your backyard.
When you mow use a grass catcher, bag the grass and dispose of it in the garbage. Spreading lawn cuttings only creates a habitat for ticks to breed.
Trim Plants and Weed the Garden Beds
Ticks prefer humid, dark conditions like bushy overgrown gardens to hide in and breed. Regularly trim your garden, remove excess foliage and weeds from the garden bed. Ticks won’t like being exposed to the sunlight and UV light.
Remove Leaf Litter from Gardens
As ticks prefer humid, dark conditions removing the organic leaf litter from your garden will reduce the likelihood of ticks breeding in your garden.
Don’t Overwater Your Garden
A damp garden that doesn’t dry out is very attractive to ticks and many other insects. Ticks need dampness to lay eggs so larvae have a water source.
Treat Your Pets with a Tick Treatment
All pets should be regularly treated with a general treatment to guard against fleas, ticks, intestinal worms and other conditions. Check the current product you use to ensure it is formulated to kill ticks. There are many good products on the market for keeping your pets safe so ensure you choose the right one for your pets.
Erect a Fence Around Your Yard
Building a boundary fence around your yard will help prevent ticks moving into your backyard. If you live next to a park, woodland area or grassland a fence will prevent native animals straying onto your property. Native animals, such as deer, mice, possums and raccoons can harbor ticks which fall off into your yard.
Use Gravel in Garden Beds Instead of Mulch
Gravel is inert and does not contain organic material so ticks don’t like it. It’s very popular to use gravel in landscaping design to give your home a modern look and feel. Gravel is very easy to maintain by raking it and you can spray weed killer on the gravel to prevent weeds growing.
Place gravel around your home to prevent ticks reaching your house. It’s much easier to spread gravel around the sides of your house near fence lines than maintaining grass.
Introduce Plants that Repel Ticks
Most people are reluctant to spray the yard with chemicals to repel ticks and other unwanted insects. A natural option is to introduce plants and herbs that have a high level of natural tick repelling chemicals such as pyrethrin. These plants will complement your garden, look good and smell good.
Common plants to help repel ticks:
- Catnip
- Citronella
- Eucalyptus
- Geranium
- Garlic
- Lavender
- Mint
- Pennyroyal
- Rosemary
- Sage
How to Prevent Tick Bites
- Don’t walk in long grass with bare legs
- Always wear long pants when walking in bushland or grassland.
- Apply insect repellent to your arms and legs.
Tick Repellents
Insect surface spray applied to outdoor surfaces can be very effective against ticks when they crawl on the treated surface.
Insect repellents containing the chemical DEET (Diethyltoluamide) are very effective at repelling insects. These products are manufactured in various forms that are applied to human skin or clothes as a spray or ointment. The spray can be applied over outdoor furniture and fittings to provide extra protection.
Pool Enclosure
In some regions of the world ticks and other insects are more frequent and you require a physical barrier to keep them out. In Florida and other southern states of the USA it’s common to have a fully enclosed pool area to keep out the insects. Mostly these pool enclosures are constructed with a metal frame covered with insect screen material that will withstand high wind and rain. Some pool owners build around the pool to enclose it within a glassed over building to provide full protection from insects, wind, rain, sun, UV light, heat and cold.
How to Get Rid of Ticks on your Body
Firstly, don’t try to rub off the tick or try to crush it. The tick’s mouth part will most likely remain attached to your skin and may cause infection or even inject disease into your body.
Burning off the tick may work but ticks are very small and firmly attached to your skin so you will most likely just burn yourself in the process.
Try using a pair of tweezers to remove the tick. Grasp as much as possible the whole tick as close to your skin as possible. Slowly pull the tick away from your skin. If the tick’s mouth part is still attached remove it with the tweezers.
After removing the tick wash the site with soap and water.
Apply an antiseptic cream or rubbing alcohol.
Kill the tick and dispose of it in a rubbish bag.
When ticks are discovered and removed with 24 hours most tick bites don’t cause any harm and usually don’t require medical treatment.
If you are concerned about contracting disease from a tick bite make an appointment with your doctor and take some tests.
Natural Repellents to Get Rid of Ticks in the Yard
Peppermint Oil Repels Ticks
Yes, peppermint oil will repel ticks. Peppermint oil makes a good insect repellent by rubbing it on your skin or clothes to ward off all insects. It’s also good to rub on an tick bite to reduce the inflammation and itchiness of your skin. Planting peppermint plants around the pool area will also help repel ticks.
Coconut Oil Repels Ticks
Coconut oil has similar properties to peppermint oil in that it repels ticks (and insects) and can be used as a tick repellent directly on your skin or on your clothes. Applying coconut oil to a tick bite will also help reduce swelling and discomfort on the affected area.
Citrus Repellent
Ticks and other annoying insects are repelled by the bitter citric acid smell of citrus fruit or herbs such as lemons, limes, oranges, lavender and basil. These smells are not annoying to people but keep the insects and ticks away. Some people have found that catnip also works to repel ticks.
You can make a natural citrus spray by boiling water with some chopped lemons, limes, oranges and/or grapefruit. Simmer the water for 10 minutes, allow to cool and strain out the fruit. Pour into a spray bottle and spray around garden beds, wood piles, along property boundaries and anywhere you think there might be ticks. You can even spray on yourself as an insect repellent.
How to Get Rid of Ticks in the Yard
Hose-on Tick Spray
The easiest and most effective chemical treatment is to use a hose-on spray containing the chemical ‘bifenthrin’. Usually one treatment is enough to sort out any tick infestation.
Insect Surface Spray
Most household insect surface spray will kill ticks. Spray around the outside of your house and around the dog kennel to deter ticks from moving closer to your home. Note that the surface spray will kill many other types of insects, like ants, cockroaches, silverfish, spiders, etc.
Tick Tubes
Tick tubes only work when you have mice in your yard.
Purchase tick tubes and place a few around your backyard. Mice find the tubes and take the chemically treated cotton material from the tubes and use it for nesting. The permethrin’ chemical will get rid of ticks on the mice. The tubes are harmless to the mice.
Conclusion
You have invested a lot of time and money into your backyard and pool for your family’s enjoyment. The last thing you want is annoying insects and pests upsetting your lifestyle and enjoyment. Ticks are a common problem especially in the spring or summer season when you are out in the backyard every day.
The best solution I recommend is to keep the backyard fully maintained by mowing, trimming and removing leaf litter. Using organic citrus spray is the best natural and safe tick deterrent. Otherwise, a hose-on tick insecticide product is the easiest solution to get rid of ticks from your yard.
