CDC Reports: Preventing Ticks in the Yard

Create a Tick-Safe Zone Through Landscaping

You can make your yard less attractive to ticks depending on how you landscape. Here are some simple landscaping techniques that can help reduce tick populations:

• Clear tall grasses and brush around homes and at the edge of lawns.
• Place a 3-ft wide barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawns and wooded areas and around patios and play equipment. This will restrict tick migration into recreational areas.
• Mow the lawn frequently and keep leaves raked.
• Stack wood neatly and in a dry area (discourages rodents that ticks feed on).
• Keep playground equipment, decks, and patios away from yard edges and trees and place them in a sunny location, if possible.
• Remove any old furniture, mattresses, or trash from the yard that may give ticks a place to hide.
• Refer to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s Tick Management Handbook Cdc-pdf[PDF – 84 pages]External for a comprehensive guide to preventing ticks and their bites through landscaping.

Read full article here: https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/prev/in_the_yard.html