A big part of being a gardener involves working around and under trees and shrubs, weeding, pruning, and working with leaf litter. As you may know, these are the perfect habitats for ticks. Luckily, there are numerous tactics out there that you can use to reduce tick encounters as much as possible.

One of the first steps to prevention is eternal vigilance, especially during tick season. Then, you need to look to tick repellents and treated clothing. These are some of the two most powerful prevention tactics, used by everyone from hikers to tick researchers. When applied to clothing, the skin and the scalp, you are in a much better state. Protective measures such as these are quite effective, with researchers in the field noting that people who employ them are much less likely to be bitten by ticks and contract Lyme disease.

Ticks are a peculiar species. Experienced gardeners often assume that a warm winter leads to spring filled with ticks. However, weather factors do not play that big of a role in the propagation of ticks.

What really ensures the propagation of ticks is a healthy and thriving rodent population. Not only will these rodents increase the tick population, they will also help them in spreading disease. Rodents are notorious for the number of pathogens that they are able to carry, but some of these pathogens will not reach humans… until ticks show up.

So how can you remain an effective gardener without getting any ticks on you? To start, go for light colored clothing. This will make it easier to spot any ticks that manage to latch onto you. Then you want to make sure that everything is tucked – your pants in your socks, your shirt in your pants, and if you’re wearing any gloves, your shirt arms into your gloves.

You can also go for specifically designed anti-tick jumpsuits that have everything, including a hood to cover your head. Once you’re all set on clothing, spray some permethrin for extra protection. This chemical will be active for up to six washes. There are also companies out there that apply anti-tick chemicals to your clothes for you, and they are much longer lasting. Another option would be to go with pretreated clothing.

Once you are done with the gardening, you will want to take off your clothing before you enter the home and then wash them immediately using water that is above 130 degrees. For maximum effectiveness, you can go straight to the dryer and place it on high for six to ten minutes and then wash the clothes. This should be followed by a shower and a body check.

If you suspect that there are ticks on your property, we can help you out. Contact us today and we can get rid of your tick infestation.