Protect your family from ticks as illnesses rise with these tips from Consumer Reports

Ticks and the illnesses they carry have been spreading in recent years, and that means protecting yourself isn’t just something to think about on hiking trails or in the woods. Consumer Reports says your own backyard can also be a place where ticks hide, especially in cool, shady areas.

According to Consumer Reports’ Paul Hope, ticks tend to thrive under tall grass and in spots that stay damp and shaded. One of the easiest ways to make your yard less inviting is to keep your grass trimmed. Hope recommends mowing to about 3 inches high—a length that helps discourage ticks without damaging the lawn.

Consumer Reports usually suggests mulching grass clippings to return nutrients to the soil, but if you live in an area with lots of ticks—or if your lawn has gotten unusually tall—it may be smarter to bag the clippings instead. That can remove some of the extra cover ticks use to hide.

CR also recommends trimming back tall grasses and weeds, especially along walkways, play areas, and other places people use often. Clearing away piles of leaves, brush, and other yard debris can also help, since ticks use those materials for shade and protection.

If your property borders a wooded area, Consumer Reports suggests creating a three-foot barrier of dry wood chips or gravel between the lawn and the woods. That can help make it harder for ticks to move into your yard.

It’s also important to think about the animals that carry ticks. Hope says deer and mice can bring ticks into your yard, so discouraging those animals may help reduce the problem. A tall fence can help keep deer out, and bait boxes designed to kill ticks on mice can help control tick populations without harming the mice themselves.

One important reminder: cleaning up the very places where ticks hide can increase your own exposure while you work. Consumer Reports says it’s a good idea to check yourself carefully after doing yard maintenance or cleanup.

And whether you’re in your backyard or heading somewhere more heavily wooded, Consumer Reports says outdoor protection still matters. Cover as much of your skin as possible and use an insect repellent with Environmental Protection Agency-registered ingredients such as DEET, oil of lemon eucalyptus, or picaridin.