Ticks don't just lurk in fields and forests. The parasites also settle in the garden to infect people and animals. The bloodsuckers carry dangerous pathogens with them, such as Lyme disease or tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). This guide will bring you up to date on the best methods for controlling ticks in the garden using natural means.
Which natural remedies help against ticks in the garden?
To naturally fight ticks in the garden, you can use a homemade lemon water spray, scare off the ticks' main hosts such as mice and take preventive measures, e.g. E.g. mow the lawn regularly, cut back bushes and avoid damp corners.
Make your own home remedies for ticks – this recipe works
A tick-free garden without the use of chemicals does not have to be a pipe dream if you spray the following home remedy consistently and regularly. How to make the poison-free product yourself:
- Bring 500 ml of water to the boil in a kettle
- Slice 2 lemons or other citrus fruits and add them to the water
- Let it cook for 1 minute
- Then let the mix simmer gently for 60 minutes
Pour the cooled solution into a spray bottle or pressure sprayer. Preferably distribute the mixture in all dark, cool and damp places in the garden. For complete effectiveness, refresh the lemon water after every rain shower while it is tick season.
Indirect control leads to success – this is how it works
If your garden is infested with ticks, the parasites have usually entered the area piggybacking on various host animals. Scaring away their main hosts has therefore emerged as one of the most effective methods in successful tick control. Mice, rabbits, moles and other rodents run away when commercial repellents are used. These are mainly based on lavadin oil, which attacks the delicate noses.
Tick rolls have a selective effect
The idea is brilliant and has been a resounding success for at least one of the main hosts. Tick rolls are filled with treated nesting material for mice. These are placed in different places in the garden. The mice take out the nesting material and pad their nests. They absorb the active ingredient and the ticks are destroyed. This clever method for fighting ticks breaks the cycle when the bloodsuckers are infested. Tick rolls have no effect on all other hosts.
Tips for effective prevention
There are effective options for prevention so that you don't have to bother with complex tick control in the first place. How to keep the dangerous bloodsuckers away from your garden:
- Mow the lawn twice a week in summer
- Prune and thin out shrubs and trees every late winter
- Surround the garden with a gravel or gravel-filled ditch as a traveling barrier
Ticks do not feel comfortable in a sunny, airy and dry garden. By eliminating all dark, cool and damp corners, you will ward off a tick infestation before it starts.
Tip
If you have a fire pit in the garden, cunning ticks will use the pile of firewood as a hiding place. If damp, dark conditions prevail here, the bloodsuckers feel at home here and multiply explosively. Therefore, stack firewood in the garden in an airy, light and dry storage area.
