How To Get Rid Of Ticks On Your Property

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How to get rid of ticks in your yard and house

Keep your lawn tidy.

The last thing you want to do is make your yard a welcome home for ticks. "Reducing ticks' habitat around your home is important to minimizing exposure to the pests and diseases," says Griffin Dill, Ph.D., coordinator of the Cooperative Extension: Tick Lab at The University of Maine. Cut brush back, mow grass short, rake leaves and compost leaf litter, and generally keep the lawn landscaped to prevent ticks from setting up shop.

Try tick control tubes.

White-footed mice are actually the vermin that infect ticks with the bacteria that causes disease. Placing tick control tubes around your yard—which are stuffed with cotton that contains the insecticide permethrin—can kill ticks and keep them away. How? Mice (yes, they almost always exist near your landscape) will steal the treated cotton and use it as nesting material, preventing an infestation. Lay down these biodegradable tubes in July or August, and then again the following May, suggests the University of Rhode Island's Tick Encounter Resource Center.

SHOP TICK CONTROL TUBES

Spray things down.

When it comes to tick-controlling sprays for your yard, know that many kill pollinators like bees, says Dill, so always read the label. While many "natural" tick killers use essential oils, the research on their efficacy isn't particularly strong. However, it doesn't hurt to try, and one that gets high ratings from users is cedar oil-based Wondercide Ready-to-Spray Natural Flea and Tick Yard Spray. Just take note that using these sprays should be done in conjunction with other preventive measures.

SHOP TICK YARD SPRAY

Consider a fence.

According the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), constructing a fence in your yard can be a good way to keep deer, stray dogs, and raccoons out of your property. Ticks like to latch onto these animals (they don't only bite humans), so keeping them away from your yard can prevent the pests from entering your home in the first place.

Create a barrier.

If you live near a known tick habitat, like a forest or wooded area, tall grasses, or shrubbery, you can prevent ticks from migrating into your yard with the help of a physical blocker. Simply create a three-foot-wide barrier of wood chips or gravel (whatever works best for you) between your lawn and the tick-friendly area to keep the critters at bay, suggests the CDC.

Keep an eye on your pets.

Ticks can hitchhike their way into your home after latching onto your pets, so always examine them after they've spent time outdoors—especially if they've been rolling around in tick territory. If you do happen to find a bite, here's the right way to remove a tick from your dog.

How to get rid of ticks on your body

Familiarize yourself with tick territory.

Ticks prefer grassy, brushy, and wooded areas, the CDC says, so you up your risk of coming into contact with them if you love to go hiking, trail running, cycling, camping, or even spend time in your backyard garden. Be cautious around wood piles, leaf litter, rock walls, and beach grass, too. While you can't stop ticks from setting up shop in areas outside of your property, knowing your surroundings will remind you to be more diligent about the preventive measures below.

Stock up on tick repellent.

Repellents that contain at least 20% DEET, picaridin, IR3535, or oil of lemon eucalyptus keep ticks off your skin, because they may disrupt the tick's sensory organ that detects heat and odors. Repellents with a lower percentage are just as effective, but will need to be reapplied more often (go no higher than 30%). Follow the listed instructions and only apply directly to your skin when the label specifically says to do so. OFF!, Sawyer, and Repel are all great brands to look for—just make sure your repellent is registered with the Environmental Protection Agency. Check out our top tick repellents here.

SHOP TICK REPELLENT

Treat clothes with permethrin.

Tick nymphs are the size of poppy seeds and can reach you by crawling up your shoes. However, one study from the CDC found that various types of ticks (including ones that carried diseases like Lyme) died in less than a minute after coming in contact with with permethrin-treated clothing, and those that survived couldn't move around as easily. So look for a product with 0.5% permethrin, like Sawyer's Premium Insect Repellent and apply to your clothes and shoes only, says the CDC. It's also great for gear (like tents and backpacks) if you're planning on a camping trip or hike.

SHOP PERMETHRIN

Do a full-body check.

"Although ticks can and do attach to any part of the body, there are certain parts they're more commonly found, including in the hairline and in tucked-away places like armpits, groin, and behind the knees," says Dill. Check your whole body after being outdoors, but give these places extra attention, as well as in and around the ears, in your belly button, and around the waist. (Not sure what a tick bite looks like? These pictures can help you identify one.)

Shower up.

You're probably sweaty anyway, so you may as well freshen up. Washing up within two hours of being outdoors not only helps you rinse ticks off, but also gives you a good opportunity to check yourself for the creatures.

Crank up the heat.

Go right to the laundry and toss your clothes into the dryer, which will kill any ticks on your clothes, says Dill. If the clothing is clean and dry, letting it tumble on high heat for 10 minutes should do the trick, says the CDC. You may need to go a bit longer if the clothes are damp. And if they need a total wash? Hot water should be used—medium to cold temps won't get rid of ticks.

Remove it correctly.

If you do happen to find a tick latched onto your body, the safest way to remove it is to use a pair of fine-tipped tweezers, per these directions from the CDC:

1. With the tweezers, grasp the tick as close to the surface of your skin as possible.

2. Using steady, even pressure, pull the tick upward in one swift motion without jerking or twisting it.

3. If parts of the tick are left inside your skin, try to remove them with the tweezers. If you're not able to, simply wash with soap and water and allow your skin to heal.

4. Save the tick in a sealable bag (just throw it in your freezer) in case you experience unusual symptoms in the coming weeks.

Avoid folk remedies.

Social media is filled with suggestions for household products you can dab on a tick to get it to back out itself, including dish soap, Vaseline, or essential oils. "Often, these remedies do work and the tick backs out—but there's a concern that it will cause the tick to regurgitate its bodily fluids into the bite site, increasing risk for disease transmission," says Dill.

Jessica Migala Jessica Migala is a health writer specializing in general wellness, fitness, nutrition, and skincare, with work published in Women's Health, Glamour, Health, Men's Health, and more.

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