Perimeter Sprays and Granules

The single most effective way to reduce blacklegged (deer) ticks in your yard is by insecticide applications that are applied mainly to the yard perimeter , shady perennial beds or along trails and paths in woods . In most situations, treatment is NOT needed on open or sunny lawns!

Treatments can be either liquid or granular applications. Products with bifenthrin or permethrin as the active ingredients work well. Spray treatments should be applied using high-pressure sprayers. To best accomplish this, TERC highly recommends hiring a licensed Professional Pest Control Applicator trained to kill ticks in the environment.

Helpful hint #1: Ask your professional where they will be applying the product. If they say over the entire yard, then they don't really know that blacklegged tick nymphs require exceptionally high humidity only found in shady, leaf-covered areas.

Helpful hint #2: Two applications usually work best, and should be done in mid-May and again in mid-June throughout the northeast and upper mid-western portions of the United States. It may be helpful to add one fall application -- timed after the emergence of adult-stage ticks - typically in mid-October. Learn more in the Education section

Perimeter spray treatments are eco-friendly by limiting the amount of pesticide being applied, and targeting the areas where people most frequently come into contact with deer ticks. The chemicals used today for tick control are much less toxic than in the past, and are used in very low concentrations. Additionally, Bifenthrin and permethrin do not leach through soil; these chemicals are degraded by soil microorganisms within the top 4 cm of the soil surface. Note: Pyrethroid products should not be applied around fish-containing ponds or streams.

Watch a video about Perimeter Spray Treatments

Mouse-Targeted Devices

When larval blacklegged ticks hatch from eggs, they generally are pathogen-free (several studies from a number of laboratories have failed to detect any human disease-causing pathogens in newly hatched larvae). Ticks become infected with disease-causing pathogens when they feed on reservoir animals. Most studies support the notion that white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) are the main reservoir host for Lyme disease spirochetes, Babesia protozoa, and Anaplasma bacteria; in most settings, mice are the primary culprits for producing infected ticks. These mice are common and often quite abundant in rural, suburban, and semi-urban settings across much of the eastern United States.

Tick Tubes are stuffed with cotton nesting material impregnated with permethrin. If mice are present, they typically are very attracted by this nesting material. If tubes are placed in areas harboring mice, the mice will steal the treated nesting material and place it in their nests. Once mice have treated nests, they almost never are infested by ticks. With complete coverage in a yard, in time nearly all of the mice will have treated nests. In this way, targeting the ticks that feed on mice can greatly reduce the number of infected ticks in your yard. It's easy to apply Tick Tubes, [although you need to think like a mouse-where would they feel safe searching for nesting material?]. Do it yourself, or hire a professional applicator. It is best to apply Tick Tubes in late July/August [when larvae are active]and in April [before nymphs emerge].

Although every setting is different, a typical 1 acre yard [assuming at least half of the area is taken up by the house footprint and lawn] will require applying about 24 tubes at each application. You can check the tubes for the presence of remaining cotton-when re-applying, if there is still cotton in a tube, then don't put the next tube at exactly the same location. Pretty soon, you will learn where the mice feel most comfortable stealing cotton but be sure to distribute Tick Tubes in all "mouse habitat" around the area to be protected.

Tick Tubes are extremely eco-friendly; cardboard Tick Tubes completely biodegrade, and the permethrin is tightly bound to the cotton fibers. There really is no risk for environmental contamination, and a toddler would need to consume more than a pound of treated cotton before there would be any chance for toxicity.

For more information on Tick Tubes including ordering information, go to www.TickTubes.com.

Eliminate Tick Habitat

Deer ticks are not out in the middle of your lawn, they live where yards border wooded areas, ornamental plantings and gardens, or anywhere it is shaded and there are leaves with high humidity. By raking leaves, trimming shrubs and low branches you can make certain areas where ticks cannot survive. Pay special attention to frequented border areas, woodpiles, stonewalls and sheds. Creating borders of wood chips stone or any other landscaping material helps to serve as a reminder between tick-safe and Tick-danger zones.

Don't Attract Wildlife

Ticks are brought to your yard by deer and become infected mainly by feeding on mice. Keep deer out by planting undesirable plants, installing deer fencing or applying deer repellents. Mice like to live in stonewalls, around sheds, woodpiles or any enclosed area they can get into. Clean up brush, keep stonewalls clear of leaves, move woodpiles away from daily activity. Birdfeeders also attract deer and rodents that may drop ticks off right where you are standing.