We are being inundated with deer ticks.
Anyone have any good suggestions?
We’ve been getting them from the grass around the house. I know mowing it short helps, but what can be done insecticide wise.
I don’t like using them but I am NOT going to take a Lyme disease risk.
Here is some good info from Consumer Reports:
https://www.consumerreports.org/pest-control/tickproof-your-yard-without-spraying/
I also see the insecticide ‘permethrin’ mentioned a lot for tick control. You may want to follow the guide above and make yourself some ‘Tick Sticks’ which get permethrin to mice nests. Ticks use mice to breed more ticks.
We make sure all of our dogs and cats are treated with ‘Frontline’ from Spring through Fall, and we’re vigilant about checking each other for ticks, too.
There’s nothing I hate MORE than finding a tick in my bed! Ick! Yuck! Gross!
There are nematodes that will attack and eat ticks, along with a long list of other bugs. I just found out about them recently, so haven’t tested them yet, but I bought a package and have it ready for when I get my garden sprayer out.
This is the one I bought: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B086683PNS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
There are other brands out there. The important part is that it contains Heterohabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema feltiae.
According to the article that pointed me toward them, these nematodes kill a tick within 48 hours of infecting it. But they don’t harm plants or animals, and supposedly most beneficial bugs are safe too. And because the nematodes are living things, they’ll reproduce as long as there’s enough food to sustain them.
I’m REALLY hoping these things live up to the hype!
If you can keep poultry - guinea hens LOVE ticks. They can be a bit on the mean side, but they decimate ticks. It’s their favorite delicacy.