Ticks are blood-sucking parasites that can transmit dangerous viruses and bacteria, including Lyme disease. Although they don’t invade homes directly like many other pests, they can take up residence in and around gardens and hitchhike on humans and pets indoors.
Understanding how to get rid of mites and what attracts them in the first place is the first step to maintaining a safe garden. Here’s what USA TODAY and entomologists want you to know about removing ticks from your garden.
Why do mites come into the garden?
Unlike most other pests that come onto your property in search of shelter and food, ticks often appear in your garden after sucking down an animal or person.
“Ticks are carried onto people’s property by wild animals and pets; they rarely migrate on their own,” says Bob Gilbert, staff entomologist at Blue Sky Pest Control in Gilbert, Arizona. “Once they ingest a blood meal, they fall off the host animal. After that, their survival depends on what they fall into.”
Once mites have entered your garden, they can become a bigger problem if the area provides a continuous food source and is suitable for hiding and breeding.
“Ticks thrive in moist, shady, overgrown areas,” says Tom Dobrinska, technical training manager at Terminix, a national pest control company. “They are attracted to tall grass, fallen leaves, wooded edges, and dense landscapes with plenty of moisture and shelter.” They will also stay if wildlife or pets provide food.
How to safely remove ticks from the garden
“Effective professional tick removal focuses on habitat reduction and targeted treatment,” Dobrinska says. “This includes maintaining your lawn by mowing regularly, removing fallen leaves, and cutting back overgrown vegetation to reduce shady, damp areas where ticks breed.”
It’s also a good idea to keep wildlife out of your yard, as deer and other animals are often the ones that bring ticks into residential areas.
“Renovating fences and shelters can help exclude wildlife that may be carrying (tick) into your garden,” Gilbert added. “If you have wooded areas, brushy areas, or desert edge areas near your home, create distance between those areas and where people and pets spend time.”
However, there is no guarantee that these methods alone will solve your tick problem. Because ticks pose serious health concerns, these more holistic approaches should be combined with professional tick treatment.
Dobrinska said EPA-registered repellents containing DEET, picaridin, or permethrin are common treatments and preventative measures for ticks.
natural ways to get rid of ticks
There are also some natural methods to get rid of or repel ticks that you can use to keep your garden safe.
- Remove straw from the lawn. “[The ticks]burrow into grass and other thatch that has high humidity,” Gilbert said. “De-thatching your lawn to reduce moisture and minimizing watering will help control mites.”
- Keep your pet tick-treated: “Dogs and cats should be regularly treated for fleas and ticks by a veterinarian,” says Gilbert. “These animals are often discounted in tick control programs, but they also often introduce new ticks into your garden.”
- Think about essential oils. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), some studies have shown that certain essential oils, such as peppermint oil and rosemary oil, have some efficacy in repelling ticks. However, results have been mixed and this should not be the sole solution.
- Habitat management: As mentioned above, making your home inhospitable to ticks and the wildlife that carry them is a good natural way to get rid of ticks. “Make your yard less attractive to rodents and other wildlife that can carry ticks by reducing tall grass, removing fallen leaves, and clearing brush.” Gilbert says.
- Continuous monitoring: Make sure you know what ticks look like, especially the types you’ve dealt with in the past. Monitor yourself, your family, and your pets for bites in the future, especially after spending time outdoors.
Professional tick treatment and prevention
Most professional tick treatments involve integrated pest management, such as the approach used by Orkin, a national pest control company. The best approach is to combine the application of chemical insecticides such as picaridin and permethrin with many of the natural methods of mite control listed above.
“[Experts]start with an inspection to identify high-risk areas where ticks are likely to live or migrate,” Dobrinska says. “Technicians then apply targeted barrier treatments designed to reduce the number of ticks in these habitats.”
Permethrin around your property will kill any mites that try to enter your garden, and picaridin can repel them from common areas.
After initial treatment, experts will typically advise homeowners where to focus their efforts regarding landscape maintenance and may recommend ongoing pesticide applications depending on the risk.
How to prevent ticks from returning to your garden
Even after professional treatment, “the mites can come back if conditions in your garden remain the same,” says Gilbert. “Long-term prevention typically means habitat modification, monitoring, tailored pet protection, and targeted treatment when necessary.”
Your pest control professional may recommend any or all of the following to prevent mites from returning.
- cut tall grass
- Remove fallen leaves regularly in the fall
- Continue maintenance of shrubs and bushes
- Focus on pruning around the fence line
- Keep wood piles high and dry
- Choose infrequent, deep watering
Many pest control companies also offer ongoing garden treatments for mites, and these can also act as a perimeter defense against other pests in your area. Talk to your local pest control company about setting up regular pest control treatments to target ticks.
Common mistakes when trying to get rid of ticks
Ticks can carry diseases that are dangerous to pets and humans, so it’s important that the treatments you implement actually kill the tick population in your garden and prevent them from coming back. There are some common mistakes to avoid when performing tick control on your property.
- Wide range of application uses: Although commercially available insecticides are very effective in treating mites, it is still important to use them properly. “A common mistake is to focus only on the center of the lawn, ignoring surrounding zones such as the edges of trees, tall grass, and brush, where ticks are most active,” Dobrinska says.
- When relying on a single treatment: One professional treatment can kill the mite population in your garden, but you should consider ongoing application for continued protection. “If rodents, pets, and wildlife continue to introduce ticks into your yard and the habitat still supports them, the problem may return,” Gilbert says.
- Failure to address fundamental issues: With food and shelter, ticks will return to your garden. Limiting wildlife on your property and keeping the landscaping well maintained will go a long way in preventing ongoing tick problems. “If prevention is not continued, ticks can recolonize the protected areas where they originally lived,” Dobrinska says.
- If the type of tick cannot be determined: Different types of mites may require different treatments, so it’s important to identify them. For example, common tick treatments are only done outdoors, but “dog ticks can live and reproduce (and require indoor treatment) both inside the home and outside in the garden,” Gilbert says.
- Relying only on natural remedies: Finally, while natural remedies can help control mites, they are not as effective as commercial insecticides and are often not sufficient to completely eliminate mites. For best results, combine a holistic approach with specialized treatment.
Have you been bitten by a tick? how to get rid of ticks
If you notice yourself, a family member, or a pet being bitten, you can remove the tick by following these steps: According to the CDC, most tick-borne illnesses are only contagious 24 hours after the initial tick bite, so start treatment as soon as possible.
- Remove the checkmark immediately. “Use fine-tipped tweezers to grab (the tick) as close to the skin as possible without crushing it,” Gilbert says. “Pull it straight out with constant pressure.”
- Hold the tick. After removing the tick, “place it in a tightly-sealed jar with a little rubbing alcohol for storage,” says Gilbert. It is a good idea to keep it for tick identification so that it can be tested by a health care professional for possible tick-borne diseases.
- Clean the bite: “After removal, the bite area should be cleaned with soap and water or a disinfectant,” Dobrinska says.
- Please consult a medical professional. Ticks can carry a variety of diseases and bacteria, so it’s always a good idea to seek help from a medical professional after a tick bite, especially if you notice flu-like symptoms. If possible, bring the tick to your appointment for testing.
- Future plans: Finally, you should take steps to keep ticks away to prevent future bites. Wear long-sleeved clothing when outdoors, use insect repellent containing DEET to repel ticks, stay away from thick grass and brush, and check for ticks immediately after being out in the wild.
When to contact a pest control professional
Even if a pet or family member only gets ticks once, this usually does not indicate a tick infestation, as they may have picked up ticks elsewhere and brought them to your property. However, if you notice ongoing problems with ticks, live near wooded areas, tall grass, wetlands, or have frequent deer, rodents, or other wildlife on your property, contact your local pest control company for treatment.
Ticks are dangerous and you should avoid removing or removing them yourself. Be sure to consult a professional about how to make it difficult for mites to settle in or apply targeted insecticides.
FAQ
What can quickly kill ticks?
Although some home remedies such as rubbing alcohol, bleach, and high heat in the washer/dryer can kill mites relatively quickly, the fastest method is to use permethrin, an EPA-regulated insecticide. Permethrin targets the central nervous system of ticks and other pests and kills them within minutes.
What smell do dust mites hate the most?
There is some evidence to suggest that the scent of peppermint oil, cedarwood oil, citronella oil, rosemary oil, and other essential oils may repel dust mites. Although these are not reliable methods of getting rid of mites, they can be used in conjunction with commercial products containing picaridin or DEET to repel mites.
How long do mites last in the garden?
According to the CDC, most tick species live for two to three years, but as long as food sources and hiding places exist on your property, the tick population can reproduce and sustain itself. Alongside professional treatment, making your garden as unattractive as possible by carrying out landscaping maintenance and reducing wildlife activity can help minimize the number of mites.
Where in the U.S. are the most emergency department visits for tick bites?
Tick-related emergency room visits are highest in Rhode Island, Vermont, and Maine, but other parts of the Northeast are also hot spots. Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut and New Jersey all rank at the top of the chart. Residents of Midwestern states are next most likely to be hospitalized from a tick bite. Reports say 2026 could be the worst tick season in recent history, so prepare accordingly, especially if you live in a high-risk area.
