Create a tick barrier with wood chips or gravel

What to Do

Install a 3-foot-wide barrier of wood chips, gravel, or dry mulch between your lawn and any adjacent wooded or brushy areas. Keep the barrier clear of leaf litter and vegetation. This is a CDC-recommended landscape modification for tick prevention.

Why It Works

Ticks thrive in moist, shaded leaf litter and migrate into lawns from wooded edges. A dry, exposed barrier creates an inhospitable zone that ticks are reluctant to cross. It also serves as a visual reminder to be tick-aware when crossing into wooded areas.

Tips

• Combine with keeping grass mowed short (under 3 inches) and removing leaf litter from the lawn
• Stack firewood in a dry, sunny area away from the house
• Deer are primary tick carriers — deer fencing also reduces tick populations significantly
• This barrier approach is most effective against blacklegged ticks (deer ticks) that carry Lyme disease