Unusually warm April afternoons now jolt nymph ticks awake
weeks before summer break, stretching the danger season for Lyme disease and
the red-meat allergy alpha-gal. One bite in your backyard can rewrite grocery
lists and vacation plans—and the earliest bites are arriving sooner each year.
Weekly mowing that holds turf near three inches drops soil humidity and steals
the shade ticks crave. Follow each cut by bagging clippings so they don’t mat
into damp shelters. Then pour a three-foot ribbon of gravel or wood chips where
lawn meets woods; mice, chipmunks, and deer dislike its hot, scratchy surface,
leaving hitchhiking ticks outside play zones.
Let the Sunlight In
Limb low branches, thin shrubs, and remove brush piles to let midday light and
wind sweep the ground. Swap deer-magnet hostas for rosemary, catmint, yarrow,
or switchgrass—ornamentals that add color without becoming lunch. More light,
fewer deer, fewer tick eggs.
Hit Ticks on Their Schedule
Slide permethrin tick tubes under sheds in April and again late August to
intercept larvae on mice. Mist cedar-oil after May and September mowings when
pollinators rest; rain means reapply.
Suit Up After Chores
Wear light socks over pant cuffs, treat clothes with permethrin, shower within
two hours, and spin garments ten minutes on high heat. A fine-tipped tweezers
by the mirror can turn a potential infection into a harmless speck.
Guard your grill nights before tiny terrors crash the party.
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