Plants and Garden Corners That Make Your Property a Tick Hotspot

Certain plants and garden corners can quietly turn your property into the perfect tick hotspot.

Anyone with a house and garden tends to think of relaxation, children playing and summer barbecues – not of tiny blood-sucking parasites waiting in the grass and shrubs. Ticks use every concealed, damp spot as a base camp. Certain plant species and poor maintenance can make the issue considerably worse. A few targeted adjustments, however, can greatly reduce the risk without turning your garden into a barren expanse of stone.

Why ticks love our gardens

Ticks are not harmless little crawlers. Among other diseases, they can transmit Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). Both illnesses may have serious, long-term consequences. Contrary to a common belief, these creatures do not wait in trees; they are usually found close to the ground, in grasses, shrubs and leaf litter.

“Ticks need three things: moisture, shade and an animal or person passing by – many gardens provide precisely this combination.”

Particularly high-risk areas include:

• tall, unmown grass and wild plants