Create a tick-resistant garden

By Pamela T. Hubbard, Master Gardener
Ticks are the perpetrators of Lyme disease, a potentially disabling infection of the joints and nervous system. As 75 percent of cases occur in our backyards, gardeners need to be especially vigilant.
The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, formerly known as the deer tick, takes two years to complete its life cycle. Females lay 2,000 to 3,000 eggs in May then die. The eggs hatch in July or early August and the larvae feed on mice, chipmunks, and birds that may be infected with the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Some birds, including the American robin, Carolina wren, house wren and veery, carry the spirochete short-term. Mice may be infected for life. The larvae drop off their host animals, molt to nymphs, and overwinter in places such as rodent burrows and leaf litter. The nymphs appear the following spring. They molt to adults then feed on larger animals such as deer, humans, and pets.
Although deer are immune to the disease and can’t infect the tick, they are important to its life cycle as 90 percent of adult ticks feed on deer. The tick spreads the bacteria into a human’s bloodstream when it bites and remains attached for 24 to 48 hours. Female adults are active in temperatures as cold as the mid 30’s, so you may find ticks on yourself or your pets at this time of year or earlier.
Know what ticks like
Ticks prefer cool, wet, shady places and are mostly found in densely wooded areas. They like stonewalls, and woodpiles but are also found in grassy or brushy areas. The unmaintained edge between woodland or brush and your lawn, called the ecotone, is the next highest in tick population. Ornamental vegetation and the lawn have the least number of ticks. Ticks don’t like open, sunny areas. Knowing the ticks’ favorite habitats can help you make your property more tick-resistant.
Tips for a tick-free habitat
There are landscape changes you can make in order to keep your property as close to a tick-free habitat as possible:
Restrict areas where deer, rodents and ticks are common, such as forest and brush. Make them off-limits for family activities.
Create a three-foot barrier of woodchips or rock to separate the off-limits area from the lawn.
Keep woodpiles away from the home, or site them on the woodchip barrier.
Remove leaf litter.
Create a tick-safe zone, a nine-foot barrier of lawn between the woodchips and patios, gardens, and play sets.
Create open, sunny areas by pruning trees to let in more sunlight.
Place play sets in sunny areas.
Keep lawns mowed.
Trim shrubs near walks and patios.
Remove groundcover around trees.
Surround gardens with fieldstone, gravel or lawn paths.
Construct an eight-foot-high fence to keep deer out.
Select deer-resistant plants for your landscape.
Remove exotic-invasive species that deer love to browse, such as Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii).
If all else fails, use a perimeter spray for ticks in the spring and again in the late summer, following the label instructions.
Pamela T. Hubbard is a Penn State Master Gardener of Monroe County. For more information email her at MonroeExt@psu.edu.