Ticks like properties with shade, ground-level moisture, leaf litter and low vegetation. This protects them from the heat and gives them a steady supply of wildlife hosts like mice, chipmunks, and deer.
You might be finding ticks on your family or pets after spending time in the yard. And if that’s the case, you’re probably wondering how they got there in the first place. What about your yard is bringing the ticks?
Ticks don’t travel far on their own. They don't fly or jump. All they can really do is hitchhike, usually on wildlife like white-footed mice, chipmunks, birds, and deer. They’ll then stay where conditions support their survival. And that requires shade so they don’t dry out in the sun.
Leaf litter is one of the strongest attractants. A layer of decomposing leaves holds moisture against the soil and creates a humid microclimate at ground level that ticks depend on. This is why ticks love to hang out on the edges of yards along unraked borders and fence lines. Stone walls with debris behind them, woodpiles, and areas under evergreen shrubs work just as well.
Ground cover plants like pachysandra, ivy, hostas, and dense ornamental plantings also provide the shaded, humid habitats that ticks like. You can find no shortage of these on the well-landscaped properties of Greenwich. They’re great tick habitats.
If you’re looking for ways to control ticks on your property, check out this video on the 6 C's of tick control. It covers practical tips like clearing leaf litter, keeping grass short, creating dry buffer zones, and reducing the edge habitat that connects wildlife corridors to your living space.
If you are a Greenwich homeowner and you want targeted protection from ticks,Mosquito Squad of Greenwich can help. Barrier treatments can be applied to the specific zones where ticks harbor on your property. A technician will walk your property and find out where ticks are hiding. Then they’ll treat those areas and you can expect the population to drop by as much as 90% for 21 days at a time. Then re-treatments are regularly done so your coverage never lapses.
