Tips and Tricks for Fleas and Ticks
Whether you have pets or not, everyone should know certain tips and tricks for ridding their lawn of fleas and ticks. Obviously, if you find a tick on yourself or your pet, it most likely came from outside of your home. You can check around your yard for signs of these pests to help get rid of them and prevent future problems. Places they’re most likely to be found include:
- Moist, shaded areas
- Areas frequented by pets (dog house or kennel, porch, along the fence)
- Tall grass
- Wood piles
- Wooded perimeter
Tips and Tricks for Preventing Fleas and Ticks
Pet owners know all about flea and tick solutions, but what about if you don’t have pets? These pests can still find their way into your yard and home, causing damage and even disease. Here are some ways to stop them.
Keep the lawn clean. Fleas and ticks prefer tall grass, brush, and leaves, and can easily jump from these hiding places to your legs. By regularly mowing the lawn and cleaning up debris, you’re giving them fewer places to go.
Keep the wood piles clean. Neatly stacking firewood piles in a dry, sunny spot won’t attract fleas and ticks like moist, sloppy piles in the shade do.
Create a rough path. Fleas hate the smell of cedar, and ticks are less likely to travel across wood chips or gravel. The roughness is irritating to them; therefore, it’s helpful to you! Create a buffer zone by outlining your yard with a gravel path or raised bed loaded with cedar wood chips to help keep them out.
Protective plants. There are certain plants that help deter fleas and ticks. Plant these around your home as a pretty deterrent.
Insecticides. There are products available for flea and tick yard treatment. It’s important to read the label, protect yourself during application, and keep people and pets from the area as directed. It’s an even better idea to have a professional apply the product for the best results.
Flea and Tick Yard Treatment in Maryland
At MRW Lawns, we offer professional flea and tick treatments for your lawn. While it isn’t an end-all solution to protect your pets, it’s a helpful piece of the puzzle. Our Flea & Tick program includes 4 well-timed applications starting around April and finishing in late July or August. Each application has an approximate residual of 6 weeks. In addition to pest control, we offer lawn care programs, aeration, seeding, tree and shrub care, and more. We are the lawn care professionals homeowners have trusted since 1988. Our service areas include St. Charles County, Calvert County, Queen Anne’s County, Howard County, Colonial Beach, Upper Westmoreland County, and surrounding areas. For more tips and tricks on prevention and treatment of fleas and ticks, contact MRW Lawns or talk to your veterinarian for pet-specific solutions.