Why Delicious Fruit Trees May Be Welcoming Ticks Into Your Garden

There's nothing better than heading out to your garden to pick fruit off of your beautiful, thriving fruit trees. And there's nothing worse than finding a tick in your hair or on your leg once you get back inside. Unfortunately, your sweet fruit trees may be the reason why you're finding ticks in your yard—but not in the way you might think.

Ticks don't care about your sour cherries or plump peaches, but animals like deer, mice, and squirrels find them delicious. These animals are all common carriers of ticks, and once the nasty bugs have found their way to underneath your trees, they very well might make a cozy home there, thanks to the thick vegetation or mulch often found beneath the canopies of trees and wooded areas. If you do find a tick — likely clinging to your socks or pant leg—the one thing you really shouldn't do to this bug is squeeze it. We have better advice. 

Blood-sucking ticks are always looking for their next meal, known as a "host." Because ticks can't fly or jump, they latch onto passing animals as they brush against vegetation and settle in until they get their fill—or fall off. When these animals inevitably find their way to your fruit trees for their own breakfast, lunch, and dinner, the ticks they're carrying can sometimes fall off into the grass or vegetation below.

Unfortunately, the plants that often surround trees make for a perfect home for these ticks. And mulch, in particular, is known for harboring ticks due to its ability to retain moisture, which ticks love. If your fruit trees have low-hanging branches, make sure to keep an eye out for ticks as you're harvesting fruit—ticks tend to migrate to the ends of branches, hoping to latch on to their next host. Even if you don't have fruit trees, there are many other common things that could be luring ticks to your yard, such as ponds with plants or stone walls.

Luckily, there are several steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of finding an unwanted friend on your sock after you've picked your apples. First, remove low-hanging branches from your trees. This will discourage ticks from climbing to the ends to search for their next hosts. Additionally, it's important to make sure the areas around your trees have proper drainage; ticks love a moist environment. You can also try planting plants that naturally repel ticks, such as catnip and lemongrass, near your trees.

Perhaps the most important and effective way to reduce ticks around your fruit trees is to discourage rogue animals from frequenting the area. Keeping deer away can be as simple as hanging scented soaps from the branches of your trees, but you may have to go so far as erecting a fence around the area to keep them out. Another humane—and fun!—way to keep critters out of your yard? Get a dog! Wild animals will steer clear if they know you have Fido in the yard. 

And remember, doctors recommend that if you do get bitten by a tick, you should carefully remove it with tweezers, watch for unusual symptoms like a rash or fever, and consider calling your healthcare provider for advice.