May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and with summer, barbecues, and more time spent outside on the way, it is a good time to pay closer attention to tick pressure around the yard.
This year, the CDC says weekly ER visits for tick bites are running higher than usual in many parts of the country. In every region except the South Central U.S., those weekly rates are the highest for this time of year since 2017. Now this doesn’t necessarily mean every yard is full of ticks, but it is a good reminder that this is not something to brush off.
Why this matters to homeowners
This is the time of year when people start using their yards more. Kids are spending more time outside. Dogs are running the property line. Patios, play areas, and lawn edges get a lot more use.
If ticks are active around the property, it changes how comfortable that outdoor space feels. For a lot of homeowners, that is when tick control stops feeling like an extra and starts feeling like part of making the yard usable again.
Why some yards have more tick pressure than others
Ticks are not usually spread evenly across a property. A lawn can look clean and open in the middle and still have plenty of tick-friendly conditions around the edges.
The CDC recommends paying close attention to wooded borders, brushy areas, leaf litter, tall grass, and transition zones where lawn meets more natural growth. They also note that fewer blacklegged ticks are found on well-maintained lawns that are not close to brushy or grassy areas.
That is one reason homeowners can be caught off guard. The middle of the lawn may not be the issue. The problem is often along the back fence, around planting beds, near wooded edges, or in spots where sun, airflow, and maintenance are limited.
What homeowners can do on their own
There are a few practical things homeowners can do to help reduce tick habitat around the yard. The CDC recommends keeping grass mowed, removing leaf litter, clearing tall grass and brush, pruning tree branches and shrubs to let in more sunlight, and placing a 3-foot barrier of wood chips or gravel between lawn and wooded areas where possible. Ticks are less likely to be found in bright, sunny areas, so those small maintenance decisions can make a difference over time.
The CDC also recommends personal protection steps like using EPA-registered repellent, checking yourself, children, and pets for ticks after spending time outside, and removing attached ticks promptly. They note that outdoor pesticide use can reduce the number of ticks in treated areas of the yard, but it should be part of a broader prevention approach, not the only step.
Where yard tick control fits in
For many homeowners, yard tick control is about reducing activity in the places people actually use.
That usually means looking beyond the center of the lawn and thinking about the whole property. Where do kids cut through? Where does the dog run? Where does the lawn meet the tree line? Where are the shaded, brushy, or tucked-away areas that hold moisture and stay undisturbed?
Those are often the places that deserve the most attention.
Property-level tick control is not about ignoring the other basics. It is about adding another layer of protection that helps make outdoor spaces more comfortable through the season.
Getting ahead of tick pressure
The CDC’s recent data is a reminder that tick bites are getting more attention this year for a reason. When ER visits for tick bites are higher than usual, it is a good time for homeowners to take a closer look at what is happening around their own property.
If your yard has wooded edges, brushy areas, or spots where tick pressure tends to build, now is a good time to get ahead of it.
Aspen Tree and Turf offers tick control treatments to help reduce activity around the property and support a more comfortable outdoor season. If you are thinking ahead to a summer with more time outside, now is the time to get ahead of it.