You might think ticks are found only on hiking trails or in wild, natural areas, but in some parts of California, ticks can also live in backyards and neighborhoods. Californians living near natural areas (such as open fields, parks, or urban hiking trails) should get to know their arachnid neighbors and learn how to avoid ticks at home.
Meet the Western Blacklegged Tick (Ixodes pacificus)
Ticks are found outdoors in brushy, wooded areas on plants, rocks, logs, and in leaves and twigs on the ground. Beginning in fall, adult western blacklegged ticks emerge in California, especially in northern coastal counties and the Sierra Nevada foothills. These ticks lurk on bushes, shrubs, and the tips of tall grasses waiting for a person or animal to brush against them so they can attach and feed on their blood.
Blood-sucking ticks can spread bacteria and other germs when they bite, causing diseases like Lyme disease in people and pets. The best way to prevent tick bites around your home is to keep ticks away from and out of your home.
Tick-Safe Landscaping
Landscaping and maintaining your yard can help make your backyard less desirable for ticks. Western blacklegged ticks prefer to live in shady, humid, overgrown areas, especially in tall grass and overgrown vegetation. These ticks are usually not found in open, sunny areas such as on mowed lawns. To create a tick-safe yard:
- Keep your lawn mowed and decorative plants trimmed and well maintained.
- Remove leaf and grass litter from your yard.
- Create a tick barrier at the edge of your property by putting down a 3-foot gravel or wood chip border between your lawn and any unmaintained or overgrown natural areas that you may live next to (such as chaparral or woodland areas).
- Move yard furniture and swing sets away from the edges of the yard to more open and sunny areas.
Protect Your Pets
Ticks are efficient hitchhikers—they can easily grab onto a pet or other animal walking through tall grass or overgrown areas. Pets can then bring ticks into your yard or home. Protecting your pets against hitchhiking ticks helps keep you and your pets from getting tick-transmitted diseases.
- Talk to your veterinarian about tick control medication for your pets. Some products can be applied directly on your pet, and others can be given orally.
- Check your pets daily for ticks, especially after they have been outdoors in overgrown and brushy areas. If you find a tick on your pet, remove it right away. Learn more about preventing ticks on pets.
Keep Wild Animals Out
In nature, ticks feed on wild animals such as rodents and deer. Help keep ticks away from your home by keeping wild animals out of your yard and away from outdoor areas where people spend time.
- Install 8-foot fences to keep larger animals such as deer out of your yard and garden.
- Keep trash cans closed and away from your home to avoid attracting rodents and other animals.
- Keep clutter away from your home to reduce areas where animals such as rodents might live.
Area and Perimeter Yard Treatments
If your attempts to reduce the number of ticks in your yard through landscaping efforts isn't effective, you might consider using pesticides labeled to kill ticks outside. Some commonly available products may have one of the following active ingredients in them: permethrin, bifenthrin, or pyrethrin. Other pesticide products include botanical oils such as rosemary and wintergreen, but these ingredients don't work as well to control ticks.
Tips for safely applying pesticides:
- Consult with a pest control operator or your local vector control agency before applying any pesticide to control ticks.
- Always read and follow all instructions on the label, including how to use the product safely.
- Make sure you are using a product that has been approved for outdoor tick control.
- Focus pesticide applications on areas where ticks may be found, such as unmaintained areas or near woodpiles. Do not apply pesticides in areas where pollinators (like bees), pets, and people often spend time.
- Pesticides can pollute California's waterways, so only use them where they can't run off into storm drains, creeks, or other water bodies.
For information on using pesticides in your yard, see the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Citizen's Guide to Pest Control and Pesticide Safety resource.
For more information about avoiding ticks and the diseases they can spread, visit the California Department of Public Health's Tick-Borne Disease Prevention webpage.
[Originally featured in the Fall 2024 edition of the Home and Garden Pest Newsletter.]