Tick Barriers: Remember 3 x 3
Concerns about deer ticks are well-founded, especially in Connecticut. You can help to protect your family, guests, and pets outdoors by creating an effective tick barrier with mulch. The recommended barrier is three feet wide and three inches thick of mulch. Barriers like this can be placed around the foundation of your home as well as between your lawn and wooded areas where tick populations thrive.
Create a mulch barrier 3' wide by 3" thick
Ticks generally won’t cross more than nine feet of sunny exposed area, so use that as a guideline for where to place recreational items like swingsets or garden seating. Placing a good mulch cover with a three foot barrier between swings and grass will also help deter ticks and keep them away from your children’s play area.
In addition to a mulch barrier for tick control, there are other measures you can take around your property:
- Keep your grass on the shorter side, and mow regularly.
- Trim bushes and shrubs. Prune them to prevent branches from potentially rubbing up against people as they walk along pathways, sit on garden benches, or play on backyard swingsets. (Ticks perch on branches and wait for passers-by to brush up against them so they can grab onto a host.)
- Avoid using ground cover plantings like pachysandra, which are favorite tick hang-out spots.
- Try to keep your yard free of piles of things like fallen leaves and grass clippings – these should be removed from your lawn as quickly as possible. (GreenCycle will accept your yard waste and convert it into eco-friendly landscaping products; click here for yard waste disposal info.)
- Consider carefully where to place your birdfeeder or wood storage area; both of these may attract mice, chipmunks, and other regular backyard visitors that carry ticks.
For detailed information about tick management, go to the Tick Management Handbook produced by the State of Connecticut.
To choose from a wide variety of mulch colors and textures you can use to create a mulch tick barrier, visit any GreenCycle location.
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