Keep the grass short to eliminate waiting spots for ticks.
Ticks are parasites that feed on your pets and carry potentially dangerous diseases. Luckily, pet-friendly lawn treatments limit your pet's exposure to ticks. These treatments require little effort on your part and the result is a healthier, happier pet. Does this Spark an idea?
Lawn Maintenance
The preferred environment for a tick is one with lots of areas to ambush your pets and family. Long grass, leaf piles and untrimmed bushes are perfect for them. Ticks will climb to the top of long blade of grass and wait for their target to pass. Then as they brush by, the tick grabs hold. Bushes offer more of the same. When unruly, these plants make another waiting point for ticks, as do leaf piles. To keep your yard clean, mow the grass, rake the leaves, remove them, and prune bushes, all on a regular basis.
Herbal Remedies
Certain plants repel ticks, such as lavender, lemongrass and geranium, and they add a pleasant fragrance to your yard at the same time. In addition, these plants also help to repel other insects such as fleas and mosquitoes. If the climate you live in is right, plant one of these types of plants in your yard to repel the ticks. If it is not, make a spray for the yard by mixing together 100 drops of essential oil for every 1 gallon of water. Spray the mixture onto the grass and plants.
Cedar Chips
Cedar, like lavender, lemongrass and germanium, is effective at repelling ticks. Although planting a cedar tree is an option, an easier solution is to use cedar chips. Replace your regular mulch around trees and bushes with cedar mulch. Then sprinkle cedar chips in the grass. Either leave the chips whole or use your lawn mower to chop them into smaller pieces, scattering them in the process. Apply fresh chips once a month for best results.
Black Walnut Hulls
If you have a black walnut tree in or around your property, put it to use to repel the ticks. Remove the hulls from the walnuts and crush them up. Place the crushed up hulls around the yard. If you do not have access to a black walnut tree, purchase black walnut hull capsules from a health food store. Dissolve one bottle of capsules in a gallon of water. Once dissolved, spray the mixture on your yard. Repeat application after every heavy rain or once a month.
Tags: your yard, repel ticks, black walnut, black walnut tree, gallon water