Can you eradicate ticks in the garden?

The garden is not just our favorite place. If you look closely, you will find yourself everywhere in summer Arachnids catch sight of. Usually there is no need to panic, even if they occasionally come close to us. With ticks in the garden, however, all alarm bells should ring, because they are carriers of dangerous diseases such as Lyme disease. Even the greatest care cannot protect us completely against the bites of these small arachnids, which are well hidden in the grass. Can't we just exterminate them?

Ticks in the garden

According to experts, ticks, scientifically ixodida, are not particularly mobile arachnids.

• move in a small area for a lifetime
• their radius is just about 1 to 1.5 m

That they can still be found everywhere is thanks to other animals who involuntarily carry them over long distances. We are talking about their host animals. In the forest these are deer, foxes and hares, while mice often act as host animals in the house garden. A garden that is plagued by mice therefore carries a higher risk of ticks.

Even if the tick can't get far on its own legs, it doesn't have to starve to death. If there is no victim in sight, then she is patient. She spends almost 95% of her life waiting in this way. But the most amazing thing is that Ixodida can survive an incredible 2 years without any food. Optimally nourished, it can live up to nine years on average. When a tick hits a host animal on the native race it therefore poses a threat for several years.

Natural enemies

The tick family of around 800 species also has natural enemies. The following species hunt and eat ticks:

• mushrooms
• Roundworms
• small wasps
• and various species of birds

We can hope that as many specimens as possible will be discovered and destroyed. However, natural enemies like those listed above cannot be established so easily in a private garden. Natural enemies are therefore not enough on their own to exterminate them in our immediate surroundings. We have to take care of this ourselves with other feasible methods.

Eradicate ticks

When do we act? When the first tick has been spotted, or is it already preventive? In the second case, there could be a lot of work to do. If we suspect a tick area, a simple test could provide more clarity. These arachnids do not look for potential bite victims with their eyes. Ammonia, butyric acid and carbon monoxide are the substances whose smell arouses the tick's appetite for attack. The so-called Flag or Flag method.

• use a sweaty bed sheet as bait
• Pulling paints through the grass
• in garden spots where they are suspected

The ingredients in the bed sheet and the passing movement attract the biting animals in no time at all. If the paint is white, the animals can be spotted very quickly.

Fight host animals

Mice are host animals for ticks and are therefore also a source of offspring of ticks. These vicious arachnids feel comfortable in their skins. When we fight mice, we are depriving the parasites of an important habitat. Mice are undesirable anyway because they eat the roots of our plants and thus interrupt their water and nutrient supply. Your presence tells us the following signs:

• withered plants without root adhesion
• Holes in the ground
• occasionally mice can be spotted on the surface

A wide variety of methods are recommended for combating these pests. If necessary, you can obtain specific information about this.

Fight ticks on mice

So-called tick rolls, the ingredients of which are toxic to ticks, are available on the market. To do this, the roll is filled with nesting material, which in turn is contaminated with a pesticide. These roles are laid out in the garden. When mice drag the material into their nest, their fur comes into contact with it. According to the manufacturer, this should kill the parasites that nest in it.
To what extent you can actually exterminate ticks in the garden with it remains questionable. The prerequisite is that the mice also accept the material offered. In addition, other host animals can also be used for tick spreading.

Minimize shady hiding spots

Tick ​​animals prefer shady places where they quietly wait for their bite victims. You should spoil these places of residence for them by providing more light. Therefore, cut back trees and bushes that provide shade in spring. While this won't wipe out all of the specimens, it will certainly reduce the risk. In addition to shade, Ixodida also likes consistently high humidity. Thinning out trees and bushes also helps here. More sun allows moisture to evaporate better after rainfall. In addition, you should also use regular / permanent watering such as a Lawn sprinkler prefer to avoid.

Mow the lawn briefly

Green lawn invites you to linger longer in summer. Children appreciate it as a play area on which they can romp around barefoot. But ticks can hide well in the grass in the garden and have an easy time reaching us. The higher the grass, the better the conditions and the greater the danger for us humans and our pets.

• Always mow the lawn short
• from spring to autumn
• at short intervals

Note: The danger of ticks lurks not only on warm days. At temperatures above 5 ° C, they are also active in autumn and winter and can sting.

Protective wall around the garden

Experts recommend digging a trench around the property and filling it with crushed stone or gravel. For ticks in the garden who are willing to immigrate, such a ditch creates a dry area that they can hardly cross.

Injectables from the trade

The Neudorff company promises a natural control agent against ixodida in the lawn. The active ingredient pyrethrum contained in it is obtained from some types of chrysanthemum. A 1% spray solution is made from the concentrate and sprayed onto the lawn. The treatment should be repeated after 7-10 days. After the spray agent has dried, according to. Manufacturer can enter the lawn without any problems.

Tick ​​traps

So-called poison-free and environmentally friendly should also be. Be tick traps. They are filled with various biological substances that attract Ixodida and then stick them together. The small traps should be placed on the property lines. This should also encourage the animals to migrate out of their own garden. After a month, the bait box is disposed of with household waste.

Play it safe

In view of how serious a borreliosis infection can be for us humans, the home garden should never be considered tick-free for your own safety. Not even if some pesticides have been used against them.

• long clothing offers some protection
• Be careful with walking barefoot through the tall grass
• search body after being in the garden
• inform about the correct removal
• Keep tick tweezers close at hand

tip: There is currently no vaccine against Lyme disease. Another disease that is also transmitted by ticks is early summer meningoencephalitis (TBE). Here you have the opportunity to be vaccinated as a preventive measure.