Can't help, sorry!

Hey Christin! I think you could be on the right track. I've never really thought about planting groundcovers to "prevent" ticks, because as you said they usually like groundcovers, mulch, etc. We use a company that sprays, and part of the mix is oils like rosemary, mint, etc......so maybe any of those more pungent plants might work? You know the background with Tom, and we can't afford him getting Lyme or any other tick-borne diseases of which there are many nasty ones, so they use a small amount of chemical mixed in with the oils, and I still do tick checks. NH is 2nd in the country for Lyme disease. Sigh...they're the worst. Well, it's probably a tie between ticks and chipmunks, but since chippers carry tics, maybe they're the worst! LOL!

Thanks for that info Susan! Interesting about the spray containing those herb oils. I will definitely mention it to the customer. I had no idea NH was so infested with ticks! I suppose since you live in such a wooded area that would be a major concern for you guys.

CMK

After DH got Lyme disease TWICE and I had 36 ticks on me over one summer, we contracted with Bartlett Tree Co. to do a tick program. Since then, I have not had one tick one me. Bliss!!! Twice a season, they spray a barrier all around my property, even into the woods, as they said ticks like to lurk in trees and drop down onto creatures who walk underneath. Ugh.

Here's a link about pungent groundcovers/plants that might be of interest: http://www.masterplanlandscapedesignpa.com/blog/plants-that-help-control-ticks/

Thank you Roxanna!!! Wonderful link you sent me to....

CMK

CMK, you're welcome! =)

(Warning for any super sensitive readers -- I think science as much as pretty and Disney. A few months ago, some hypersensitive soul got rattled of my very blurred phone photo of a hawk and its prey -- no detail observed. So it you share that sort of anxiety about real life, pass up reading this and maybe all of my posts. But I do understand -- I often do not want to watch when those PBS nature programs show a crocodile or cheetah doing what they do; I sometimes just flip the channel -- seen it before....)

Oh, boy! Can I relate to TICKS TICKS TICKS. When outside w tuck out long trousers into our socks, spray with DEET and Sawyer's (only on clothing for the latter). That helps a lot, but isn't much fun in hot weather. They deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) hitchhike in on the dog. He's small and white and I do checks on him, but the ticks sometimes don't make themselves apparent for 20 minute or more when I spot them on his nose.

We have stone walls and that means lots of hiding places for white footed mice and chipmunks. We're in a clearing in the woods, but I even have ticks in the grass. I've tested +ve for the Lyme antibody and the doxycycline (oral, short term) seemed to keep me from getting the disease.

Roxanna, do you know what the tree company used? I don't want to harm the bees or good crawlies, but I am about ready to drop a "warhead" on these dreadful things. They can carry other disease organisms in addition to the spirochete causing Lyme disease. There is now a viral pathogen that is in the deer tick population (positive testing in New England, including MA).

You'd think some creative genius would come up with a birth control agent for this horrid little pest. Are deer ticks really "needed" for anything?

What to spray? Or should I pave the whole area. I will experiment with some home-made tick tubes (you can stuff the material into stone walls, wood piles (we heat with wood), or use doubled toilet tissue tubes (on inside the other) coated with paraffin.

I've had them attach to me in January. I've spotted them seeking on l high canes and brush. I've woken up to spot one on my pillow or the sheets. Thanks, pup-dawg. These critter exceed in detecting a suitable host (they run towards CO2, ammonia, lactic acid and other pheromone like chemicals we and other hosts give off (if in combination, the better). One way researches trap deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) is to use dry ice (CO2) in a perforated Styrofoam box. You have to hand it to these ticks, very well evolved to do what they do. Each stage, larval, nymph, and adult, "know" just how high they need to go to get the best opportunities to attach to a host.

If you can stand it, play around with some of them--engorged ones move slower, but still move at a good clip. I took some video of an engorged one last year. It consistently walked away from the desk lamp (light). Watch how they turn themselves over or switch direction -- they apparently have some sort of air bladders that they use to alter their center of gravity.

As I was taking my phone video, I appreciated that few others would be "nuts" enough to spend an hour watching a fat tick ambulate. However, I was happy to see that some kindred spirit already has a YouTube video of her engorged deer tick in motion. Check it out.