When it comes to killing ticks and keeping them out of your yard, you don’t have to resort to harsh chemicals that can be dangerous to pets, children or adults.
Ticks are certainly not a welcome backyard insect. Not only can their bites be painful, they carry a long list of disease as well. From Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, to Lyme disease and a whole host of ailments in between, ticks can cause serious illness.
For all of those reasons and more, keeping their population under control is a must. But unfortunately, many of the commercial pesticides that kill ticks happen to kill beneficial insects too. Even worse, they can be dangerous for humans and pets when ingested or if they come into contact with their skin.
The good news is that there are a few organic all-natural solutions that work incredibly well to control ticks. And not only can they keep your backyard safe from these menacing insects, they can do so without the worry of having to resort to harsh or dangerous chemicals.
3 Natural Solutions To Keep Ticks Out Of A Yard
#1 – Neem Oil
When it comes to protecting plants from insects, disease and more, neem oil is a proven all star! This all-natural remedy is made by pressing oil from the seeds of a neem tree. And does it ever have a long list of helpful qualities all over the landscape!
When sprayed on fruit trees, it can protect developing fruit from scab, leaf spot, fungus and more. It can also help to kill lawn grubs when applied to lawns.
But neem oil’s protective qualities don’t stop there. It’s also incredible for controlling aphids and whitefly infestations on flowers and vegetable plants. It also kills mosquitoes and fleas.
If that wasn’t enough, it also eliminates young Japanese Beetles before they ever reach adulthood. And yes, you may have guessed by this point, it happens to kill ticks too! See : How To Use Neem Oil – The Organic Solution To Pest & Disease Control!
But here is even better news, even though neem oil can be detrimental to so many insects, it does not bother or harm bees and butterflies – which just happen to be two of the best pollinators around.
How Neem Oil Stops Ticks – How To Keep Ticks Out Of A Yard
When neem oil is sprayed onto a tick, the oil blocks the insects ability to breathe. When that happens, the tick loses the ability to function and soon dies.
To control tick populations on lawns, simply mix one gallon of water with 6 tablespoons of neem oil. To help allow the spray to stick to grass and plants, add in a teaspoon of olive oil or vegetable oil to the mixture and shake well.
The mixture can be applied directly to lawns using a a pump or backpack sprayer. Be sure to coat the surface of the lawn evenly. Not only will this application help to rid your lawn of ticks, but it can also eliminate grubs, Japanese beetle larva, mites, fleas and mosquitoes in the grass too!
For best results, re-apply once a month throughout the late spring, summer and early fall months. If you are not into mixing your own organic solution, there are also ready made all-natural neem oil mixes on the market that are ready to spray. Product Link : Bonide Neem Oil Natural Insecticide
#2 Eucalyptus Oil – How To Keep Ticks Out Of A Yard
Eucalyptus oil has long been a go-to choice for everything from muscle pain to arthritis and more. The oil is hailed for its anti-inflammatory and skin healing properties – but it also happens to be a great weapon in the fight against ticks!
Listen Below To Our Podcast On How To Control & Repel Ticks Naturally!
You can use Eucalyptus oil both as a repellent and as an insecticide for ticks. As a deterrent, you can create an effective repellent spray by combining 30 drops of eucalyptus oil with 6 ounces of water. Product Link: PURE Eucalyptus Essential Oil
When sprayed onto clothes and skin, it helps to keep ticks from climbing on board and taking a bite. You can use it safely on humans but it can be toxic to pets. Always test a small area of your skin as it can be an irritant for some.
You can also add Eucalyptus oil to the neem oil mix to create an even more powerful insecticide to keep them out of your yard and landscape.
#3 Free Range Chickens – How To Keep Ticks Out Of A Yard
Believe it or not, one of the best and most effective ways to kill ticks and clear them from your yard is with a small flock of backyard chickens!
We can speak to this fact from our own personal experience. When we started to build our first farm back in 2010, to say there was a tick problem would be the understatement of the year.
In fact, you couldn’t walk ten feet in any direction without having one attaching to your clothing or arms. It was so bad in fact, that our then eleven year old son wouldn’t leave the comfort of a small trailer to step in the grass – mainly because he was not fond of ticks in the least!
The Chickens Arrive!
It wasn’t long after that our first batch of chickens arrived. They roamed the farm all summer long, and it didn’t take long for them to simply decimate the tick population. So much so, that by the next spring and thereafter, there wasn’t a tick around!
There is little doubt that a few backyard chickens can be one of the best investments around. They not only give you eggs and free manure for your compost pile and garden – but they can kill and control ticks fast!
Here is to keeping ticks out of your yard this year – and your family and pets safe! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary.
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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