Are Garden Ticks a Big Problem?

Nobody likes ticks; they’re gross, they spread diseases, and the scary thing is, you don’t always know when they bite you or your pets. Do you know what else they like to bite, though? Your plants! Yup, not even the plants from your garden are safe from this terror, having several species of garden ticks to contend with. 

But you can protect your plants and yourself with a bit of preparation, gardening supplies, and knowledge on what to look for. These are all things that the experts at Pioneer Landscape Centers can help you with.

What Are Garden Ticks?

Currently, there are eight common species of ticks in Arizona and its surrounding states, but you won’t find all of them in your garden. Some of them go after wild animals and don’t make their home in plants like the Bat Guano tick, the Rabbit tick, and the Brown Dog tick.

Some try to make their way into your household, while others target you and animals while you go outside. Only a select few are found in your garden, around your shrubs, or burrowing in your trees.

They don’t want to eat your plants like some other pests, they want to make your plants into homes while they try to bite you, your pets, or another animal. Thankfully, there are some tried and true ways to get rid of them.

Plants That Repel Garden Ticks

While ticks don’t eat plants, they do destroy them when they make a home out of them. Because of this, some plants have evolved to repel or be toxic to them. Many have chemical repellents that they produce that drive ticks and other pests away. You can plant these plants around your garden, shrubs, and trees to drive ticks away. 

Other plants are toxic to ticks, though these aren’t a good countermeasure to protect your garden. Plants that are toxic to ticks may kill or drive off a tick before the pest does real damage, but it does nothing to protect other plants around them. This means it’s best to plant plants that create chemical repellents. To plant these, you’ll need extra mulch, topsoil, and gardening space.

Rosemary

This herb pulls double duty. Its beautiful earthy smell is intoxicating to us, but ticks and other pests absolutely hate it. Plus, you can use it for cooking, baking, and more.

What makes this plant such a good choice is that it's easy to grow, and won’t take as much nutrients and sun away from other plants in your garden. It’s legitimately one of the best plants to grow if you’re worried about ticks and most other pests.

Garlic

Garlic is another plant known for its intense and lovely smell. Like many other plants and herbs, this one’s smell drives away ticks and other pests who can’t handle it. This gives you the chance to protect your plants and grow some ingredients that you and your family can enjoy.

Lavender & Mint

Now, while lavender is another herb known for its enchanting scent, the scent is not what drives ticks and other pests away. Lavender releases oil that will drive ticks and pests away. 

This option is better for tightly packed gardens. You can also get lavender oil and either rub it on or over your plants to better protect them rather than plant the herb itself.

Mint is grouped in with lavender because it repels ticks and other pests the same way. When picking between lavender and mint, it’s more of a question of which scent you prefer.

Lemongrass

If you have less of a problem with garden ticks, and a bigger problem with ticks in your shrubs and on your trees, then lemongrass might be the better option for you. This is especially true if you want to fill in brown spots around your trees and shrubs. 

While it's not a herb, it does have the same properties as those we’ve listed before. It releases oil that repels garden ticks and many other pests. 

Oils That Repel Garden Ticks

Maybe you don’t want to make room for more plants in your garden. That’s understandable, so instead, you should get oils that you can rub and place around your plants and your garden borders to repel ticks. Oils that repel plants include:

• Cedar oil
• Neem oil
• Garlic oil
• Peppermint oil
• Lavender oil
• Mint oil

Get Help Dealing with Garden Pests from Pioneer Landscape Centers

Ticks are one of the worst insects out there, and if you can avoid them while having fun gardening, why not? Planting an extra plant or two can protect the ones you want to plant, while also getting an extra plant out of it. It’s a win-win, and if you have any questions or need help getting any of the supplies you need, the experts at Pioneer Landscaping are here to help. Contact us today.